THE DAYCARE SERIES COLLECTED
by Ster J
Summary: The Daycare stories are collected into one. These are the voyages of Jimmy, Spockie, Lenny, Monty, and the rest. This newest chapter, "Big Fat Poopy Head!" falls between Green Weenies and Show and Tell.
1. I Want Him to Be My T'Hyla

**THE DAYCARE SERIES**

I Want Him to Be My T'Hyla

**by Ster Julie**

_Thanks, Kaz!_

Rating: G 

Codes: S, Am (AU, daycare)

A/N: _A'Nirih _is Vulcan for "father."

--ooOoo--

"Mommy? What's a _t'hyla?"_

"A _t'hyla_ is someone you have very special feelings for, like _A'Nirih_ and I do."

"So _t'hyla_ only means mommies and daddies?"

"It can mean mommies and daddies, but it doesn't only mean that. When we find an extra special little girl for your bonding, you and she can be _t'hylas."_

"I can only be _t'hyla_ wif a girl?"

"Don't sound so dismayed! No, two boys can be _t'hylas_ if they are very, very close."

"Like when I stand so close to you?"

"No, Baby. Close as in family."

"Like brudders?"

"Yes, brothers can be _t'hyla_ to each other, but it can also mean a very, very, very, very special friend, too."

"Mommy! Stop tickling me!"

"Why do you want to know about _t'hylas,_ Baby?"

"I met a boy today. He's really, really, really nice to me. He didn't tease me at all. He let me play wif his stuff and he showed me all around the daycare center. He let me eat his vegabuls and I gave him my yucky sammich. It was something called buh-lo-nee."

"That was nice of him. What is his name?"

"His name is Jimmy. He's gonna be a starship captain an' he wants me to be his science guy. He says we are gonna be the bestest friends in all the world."

"That was nice of him. What did you say?"

" I told him 'Nuh-uh.'"

"Why did you say that?"

"I said 'nuh-uh' 'cuz I want him to be my _t'hyla."_

END


	2. Bestest Friends in the Galaxy

**THE DAYCARE SERIES**

2. Bestest Friends in All the Galaxy

**by Ster Julie**

Rating: G

Codes: K, S, the Gang, Sa, Am (AU, daycare)

A/N: There is a background story (found in both Kidnapped! or The Firstborn), but it is not necessary to understand this story. Enjoy!

--ooOoo--

Mr. R had just turned down the nights and closed the door in the nap room when Chrissy and Nyota poked their little heads up. They caught each other's eye and stuffed chubby hands into their mouths to stifle their giggles. Time to put their plan into action!

Both girls pulled the blanket off their little naptime pad and moved to stand over little Spock's already sleeping form. In fact, all of the boys fell asleep quickly after a morning of roughhousing. The girls had been left to their own devices, and their plan had been hatched.

"He looks cold, Chrissy," Nyota whispered. "Maybe we should cover him up."

Chrissy started to spread her blanket over the slumbering Vulcan child. "We don't wanna let him get sick," she replied as Nyota add her own blanket over Spock. "We should tuck him in real good."

Both girls bent to their work, shoving the blankets under the boy. They finished their work by snuggling on either side of Spock.

Soon the nap room was filled with terrified screaming!

Spock thrashed from side to side, trying to escape whomever had bound him in the blankets. Their girls tightened their hold on him, which terrified Spock further and prevented him from escaping.

Baby Chekov was the first to echo the Vulcan boy's screams. The girls jumped up in fright and ran to a corner of the nap room, holding each other, crying, as they hid under the changing table.

Jimmy awoke with a start and moved toward his friend.

"Spockie?" he said as his eyes filled with tears. "Whassa matter?"

Spock continued to scream and to fight his way out of the blankets.

Lennie looked up, wided-eyed, from his own nap mat. "Jimmy?" he started.

Jimmy tried to grab one corner of one blanket to help disentangle Spock. "Go get Mr. R, Lennie," Jimmy ordered.

Hikaru got up and moved over to where the girls sat huddled together. Monty snored on.

Lennie found Mr. R on the com unit in his office. "Mr. R, Mr. R!" Lennie called. "Spockie's screamin'!"

Mr. R put out a hand to shush Lennie as he finished his call. "You have the coordinates of the transporter pad in the lobby, Madam," he said. "I will see you shortly."

Lennie grabbed Mr. R's hand and pulled him into the nap room.

Mr. R took in the situation with one look. "Lennie," he ordered over the continued screams, "go rub Pavel's back and help him calm down." The daycare director moved over to the sleeping pallets where Jimmy had successfully removed the last of the confining blankets. Spock continued to scream and flail his arms.

The other children turned their attention to the door where the pretty blonde woman they remembered as Spock's mommy came in with a mysterious looking man who could only be Spock's daddy.

Sarek scooped up the screaming child and carried him out of the room and into the office. He murmured words that none of the other children understood. Spock's cries decreased in volume to whimpers as he pushed two of his fingers into his mouth and began sucking on them in earnest.

Jimmy watched the father and son through the office windows, tears welling up in his own eyes. He could hear Mr. R speaking to the girls as he held Pavel on his shoulder. Jimmy didn't understand what could have happened. He had had his shares of bad dreams, but Jimmy had never had such a bad reaction to them. Spock was taking an awfully long time calming down.

Jimmy felt a sweet smelling presence at his side. He turned his tear stained face up to Spock's mommy.

"Whassa the matter with Spockie?" Jimmy whimpered.

Amanda placed a gentle hand on his curly blond head and knelt beside him.

"What's your name?" she asked.

"Jimmy," Jimmy answered impatiently. "Whassa the matter with Spockie?" he repeated.

"So you're Jimmy," Amanda smiled. "Spock has told us all about his friend named Jimmy."

Jimmy stamped his foot.

"What's the matter with Spockie!" he demanded.

Amanda considered how much to tell this child of her son's torments.

"Last year," she began quietly, "some bad men came and took Spock out of his bed as he slept." Jimmy's eyes grew huge.

"They kidnapped him?" he breathed. Amanda nodded. "Did they make you give money to get 'im back?" Again Amanda nodded.

"We had to give money three times," she replied. "Spock got tired of this, so he found out where he was, and, the next time the kidnappers put him on camera for us, he called out his location."

"Is that how you found 'im?" Jimmy said. Amanda nodded a third time, then a sad shadow crossed her face. Jimmy noticed. He also noticed that Spock's cries had resumed after his father had pulled the boy's fingers out of his mouth. Jimmy's eyes filled again.

"Did they hurt Spockie?" Jimmy whispered as fat tears rolled down his cheeks.

Amanda wiped them away as she whispered, "Yes."

Jimmy pulled away from her and moved to press against the windows. "Why did they have to hurt 'im?" he cried.

Spock pulled his fingers from his mouth a second time, only long enough to say meekly, "I'm sorry, _'Nirih, _for bothering you at work." Sarek tightened his grip around his son.

"You are never a bother to me, _cha'i,"_ he replied. Spock snuffled and snuggled against Sarek's robes. He turned his head to the window to see Jimmy's mournful face.

_"A'Nirih!"_ he cried weakly. "Jimmy's crying! Why is Jimmy crying?"

Sarek saw his wife comforting a pale haired boy in the nap room.

"I do not know, _cha'i,"_ Sarek replied, "but Mr. R can see to him. Come, I will take you home so you can rest. You need to rest."

"I hafta see why Jimmy is crying, _'Nirih!"_ Spock declared as he wiggled himself free of this father's grasp.

As Spock entered the nap room, Amanda released Jimmy. The two boys were drawn into each other's arms like steel to a magnet.

"Don't cry, Jimmy!" Spock told his weeping friend. "I'm okay. I'm okay, Jimmy. It was just a dream. The girls didn't know what they were doing. Those bad men are gone and they will never hurt me again. I'm fine. I am going to be fine."

Amanda listened to her son's litany and wondered if Spock was trying to convince Jimmy or himself. It had been months since the night terrors had troubled the boy. The healers had said that he was recovered from his trauma but to expect the nightmares from time to time.

Jimmy lifted his head from Spock's shoulder.

"You're my bestest friend in all the galaxy, Spockie," he declared. Spock gasped.

"My daddy says the galaxy is a big place, Jimmy!" he replied in amazement. Jimmy smiled.

"My daddy says the same thing." Jimmy rubbed Spock's shoulders and smiled. "You wanna go play, Spockie?"

Spock shook his head. "No, Jimmy. My daddy is going to take me home so I can take a nap," Spock replied. "I'm very tired."

Jimmy looked puzzled. "But you can take a nap here, Spockie!" the boy replied. "I tirey, too. We can take a nap together."

Spock looked up at his father with pleading eyes.

"Do you wish to stay, _cha'i?"_ Sarek asked gently.

"Yes, please," Spock replied respectfully.

Sarek eyed the human boy at his son's side. "And you, young man," he replied in a light tone so as not to frighten the boy further. "Will you stand guard over my son while he sleeps?" Jimmy gulped and simply nodded. Sarek gathered his robes around him. "Very well." He extended two fingers to Amanda. "Let us take our leave, my wife."

As the adults left the room, Nyota and Chrissy made their way to where Spock stood.

"I sorry that we scared you, Spockie," Nyota said before giving Spock a quick hug.

Spock stiffened in surprise.

Chrissy's mouth dropped open in surprise. She decided she had to do one better.

"I'm sorry, too, Spockie," she said planting a noisy kiss on his cheek before running off after Nyota. Spock stiffened even further in distaste. He turned a shocked gaze to a smiling Jimmy.

"C'mon, Spockie," Jimmy said amiably. "Let's go take a nap."

After a long discussion between Mr. R and Spock's parents, Amanda took one more look into the nap room and smiled at what she saw. The blonde boy and Spock were reclining side by side on a pair of nap mats that they had pushed together. Each boy had an arm around the other as they slept. Spock did _not_ have his fingers in his mouth—a very good sign, Amanda noted.

Peace once again reigned in the nap room, that is, until Monty got up, stretched, and said, "What are ye all still sleepin' for?"

END


	3. Career Day

**THE DAYCARE SERIES**

Career Day

**by Ster Julie**

Rating: G

Codes: K, S, the Gang (AU, daycare)

A/N: Blame this one on Saidicam wink

--ooOoo--

"Your writin' 's written rotten!" Lenny exclaimed as he looked over at Spock's paper.

The other children looked over at the commotion. Jimmy peered over to where Spock was laboring over a long sheet of paper, writing with a fat marker in letters that ran from top to bottom and from left to right.

"Looks like you're drawing black s'ketti," Jimmy said.

"I once sawed someone make a picher by dipping worms in paint and letting 'em crawl on some paper," Hikaru announced.

That comment raised a chorus of "Ews!" from nearly everyone in the group, everyone, except Spock.

The little Vulcan boy was struggling with the Golic runes. Of all the children in the daycare, Spock was the only one able to write more than just his name, but it took a lot of patience and concentration on his part. Spock's single-mindedness paid off in the end. He held up the length of paper, reread it with a critical eye, then rolled it, tied it up with some yarn, and placed it in his cubby.

"What did you just make, Spockie?" Jimmy asked.

"I wrote a letter to my daddy," Spock replied.

"What for?" Jimmy asked.

"I 'vited him to come for Career Day next week," Spock replied.

"Why dincha just ask him when he got home from work tonight?" Jimmy asked, confused.

Spock looked at his friend askance. "It is proper to issue an 'vitation in writing," he quoted from his parents' lessons.

"Oh," Jimmy replied.

Spock looked at his friend. "C'n your daddy come for career day, Jimmy?" he asked.

Jimmy pushed some markers back and forth on the table. "My daddy's away on his ship again," he pouted.

"Oh," Spock replied. "How about your mommy?"

Jimmy made a face. "She's just a dumb ol' farmer," he muttered.

"Jimmy!" Spock corrected. "Wifout farmers, we wouldn't have food!"

"Correct, Spock," Mr. R's kind voice was heard. "Besides, Jimmy," he continued, "your mother is an agricultural engineer. Her work is important for developing crops for the new colonies." Mr. R looked Jimmy over carefully. "You _did_ invite your mother to come for Career Day, didn't you, Jimmy?" he asked.

Jimmy shook his head.

"I'll help you write an 'vitation!" Spock volunteered.

Jimmy looked sideways at his friend.

"'Kay," he replied with a smile.

As the two boys ran off together to get more paper, Mr. R looked over his roster.

"Monty," he called.

"Aye?" Monty replied.

"Who is coming for Career Day from your family?" he asked.

"Me da is coming," he said proudly. "He's just back from erecting the newest pressure domes on Mars!"

"Very good," Mr. R commented as he noted Monty's response. "Let's see," he continued, "Lenny, your father is coming, surgery schedule permitting, right?"

Lenny nodded enthusiastically. "Yup, and if he can't come, my granddaddy Dr. Harold McCoy will come." Lenny turned and whispered to Monty, "He invented the biobed!"

"Wow!" Monty breathed.

"Nyota," Mr. R continued, "Your mother will be coming with some of her music students, correct?"

Nyota clapped her hands. "They are _real_ good," she commented. "It'll be fun!"

"Hikaru?" Mr. R said next. "Who did you invite?"

"Well," Hikaru began, "I 'vited my mommy, but she got called away to test some new fighting shuttles, so my _obaasan_ (grandmother) is coming instead. She's a bot'nist."

"Very good," Mr. R commented, taking more notes. He had good representation in the sciences; he had an engineer and a bio engineer coming. So far the fine arts had only one representative. Baby Pavel's father once danced with the Russian ballet before he became an inventor. Perhaps he would come. There was no representative from Starfleet he noted coming to this Starfleet-funded daycare's Career Day. _Bad form,_ Mr. R thought.

"Chrissy?" Mr. R called. "Who is coming to Career Day for you?"

Chrissy drew herself up proudly. _"Both_ of my parents are coming," she announced. "My daddy is an author, and my mommy is a hospital 'ministrator."

"Excellent," Mr. R commented.

"An' my daddy said that he'd write a story 'bout all of us at the daycare center," she announced to the group, "and he'd even put pichers of _us_ into the story!"

"Wow!" the children chorused.

-

Jimmy and Spock were busy at the table. Well, Spock was busy carefully writing what he could of what Jimmy wanted him to say. For his part, Jimmy was peering over his friend's shoulder so intently that he didn't notice the large shadow that suddenly fell across the table.

"Hey, Squirt!"

Jimmy started at the sound. "Daddy!" he breathed. Soon strong arms picked up the little tow-headed boy and flung him high over his head. "Daddy!" Jimmy squealed in delight. "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!"

"Welcome, Lt. Cdr. Kirk," Mr. R said a safe distance away from Jimmy's flying feet.

George Samuel Kirk, Sr. perched his young son on his shoulder and extended his hand to the daycare director.

"Call me George," he said, pumping the older man's hand vigorously. "My wife told me about Career Day next week and, well, I never know when I am going to be home, so I thought I'd better come when I could."

"But I haven't finished the 'vitation yet!" Spock said from the table.

"S'okay, Spockie!" Jimmy giggled from his perch. "Come meet my daddy!"

Spock rose from his chair and came to stand in front of the Starfleet officer.

"Live long and prosper, Mr. Kirk," Spock said with his hand in the _ta'al._

"It's _Lieutenant Commander!"_ Jimmy said crossly. "He's in Starfleet. He's a S'curity officer!"

George Kirk flipped his son easily to the floor. "Easy there, Squirt! Don't get your torpedoes in a twist." He turned to the solemn little Vulcan boy in front of him, lifted his own hand in the split-fingered _ta'al_ and intoned, _"Mene_ _sakkhet ur-sevah,_ Spock."

Spock's mouth dropped open with shock. Before he could get a mouthful of Vulcan syllables out of his mouth in reply, George Kirk interrupted him.

"That's the extent of my Vulcan, son," he said. The elder Kirk looked Spock over with a critical eye. "So you're my Jimmy's new friend. You are all he ever talks about anymore."

Spock turned wide eyes to Jimmy, who just beamed. "Jimmy's been a very true friend to me, sir," Spock replied shyly.

George Kirk squatted down so he was at eye level with the quiet little boy. "Know what?" he asked Spock conspiratorially. "A good friend will stick by your side, through the good and through the bad. A good friend is better than a pocketful of credits. A good friend will always be here," he said, pointing to the correct spot over Spock's heart, to his surprise, "no matter how far apart you are." George looked over to his son, "Jimmy already knows that, don't you, Squirt?"

Jimmy nodded solemnly. "I know my daddy is close by in my heart," he averred, "no matter how far away his ship takes him."

"That's good to know," Spock said.

George noticed that the mood had grown somber, so he decided that it was time to do what he came for.

"Mr. R," he addressed the daycare director smartly, "permission to demonstrate some martial arts, _sir!"_

Jimmy couldn't help but beam proudly.

END


	4. Open House

**THE DAYCARE SERIES**

Open House 

**by Ster Julie**

Rating: G

Codes: Spock, Amanda, Uhura (AU, daycare)

Part 1/1

A/N: Thank you Karracaz for the inspiration. Thank you Lucky from scifispace dot com for the translation.

--ooOoo--

Passing the great faux-glass windows at the front of the building, Amanda caught a reflection of herself being pulled into the daycare center by a very eager son. She laughed inwardly at the comical sight of her bright blue gown (Spock's favorite) flapping behind her as she was rushed into the school.

"Please hurry, Mommy," Spock urged. "We are late already."

"We are not late, Baby," she cooed as she came to a stop in front of the door. '''Open House' means that the doors will be unlocked during a specific time and that we may come and go as we please. We are not late."

Spock couldn't grasp the idea. Vulcan doors were never locked and if an event was supposed to start at a certain time, all participants were expected to be there from the beginning. Spock dragged open the door and said, "C'mon, Mommy!"

Amanda shook her head ruefully and entered the daycare center with her zealous son.

"I see you were dragged here early, too," a warm, lilting voice sounded.

Amanda turned towards the speaker and found herself eye to eye with a stunning African woman. Amanda's eyes were drawn to the robes the woman sported. They were made of a rich, deep red cloth embossed with gold stars and crescent moons. The woman was adorned with hammered gold jewelry and sported a small girl on one leg.

"I am Penda Uhura," the woman said, extending her hand to Amanda, "and this child clutching at me is my daughter Nyota."

"I am pleased to meet you, Penda," Amanda replied.

Spock remembered his manners and stepped forward before Amanda could continue.

"Peace and long life, " he said extending his small hand in the ta'al. "I am Spock cha Sarek cha Skon, and this is my mother, Amanda Grayson, aduna Sarek cha Skon cha Solkar."

Penda's gaze dropped to the small Vulcan boy in surprise then back up to Amanda.

"My husband is the Vulcan ambassador to Earth," Amanda supplied.

Penda nodded. She extended her hand to Spock, saying, "That was some introduction, young man. I am very pleased to meet you."

Spock hid shyly behind his mother and just turned large dark eyes at the woman and her offending hand.

"Vulcan's are touch telepaths," Amanda whispered. "They do not like to be touched."

Penda nodded again.

Nyota, for her part, clutched at her mother's legs like a shield.

"Come out here, Nyo," Penda urged in her own tongue, "no one is going to eat you!" but Nyota only pulled back farther.

Amanda listened to the woman speaking and crouched down to eye level with the tiny girl.

_"Jambo,_ Nyota Uhura!" Amanda said pleasantly.

Nyota popped her head out behind her mother's knees in shock.

_"Jambo,_ Missus!" she replied in a sweet little voice. "You speak Swahili!"

Amanda shrugged. "Only a little."

"I speak Swahili!" Nyota said happily, "and Ibo and French, and Arabic, and Standard, 'course, and . . . "

"And you will talk our heads off if we let you!" Penda chided playfully, tousling the girl's hair affectionately.

"My!" Amanda declared, "that is a lot of languages. I know a lot of languages, too, so I teach others how to speak Standard. What do you do with all those languages?"

"I talk to my friends." Nyota replied, "and I help them talk to each other."

Amanda smiled. She had found a kindred soul!

"Ah," Amanda remarked, "you are a communicator."

Nyota wrinkled her nose. "A com-moo-nicator is a talk box," she complained. "I'm not a talk box!"

Amanda smiled gently. "Indeed, you are not that kind of communicator," she agreed with the girl, "but anyone that helps two people speak to each other helps them to communicate. Isn't that what you do when you help your friends to talk to each other?"

Nyota nodded. She sneaked a peek at Spock who was standing quietly next to the two mothers.

_"Madame?" _Nyota began, taking a chance that one of the many languages Amanda spoke was French.

_"Oui?" _Amanda replied, intrigued that a child so young could speak so many languages.

_"Madame, j'aime votre fils," _Nyota confided to Amanda. (Ma'am, I love your son.)

Penda's eyes widened at her daughter's declaration of love for the Vulcan boy.

Amanda looked down at her son and back at the little girl. "_Vraiment?"_ (Really?)

_"Oui," _Nyota responded_. "Je le trouve beau." _(Yes. I think he's cute.)

Spock noticed that his mother and his classmate were speaking in some foreign language--about _him!_

_"Tu veux dire que tu l'aimes," _Amanda clarified, _"en tant qu'ami."_ (You mean you like him, as a friend.)

Spock grew nervous at the exchange of words, of the looks his mother and the girl were giving him, of Nyota almost predatory smile.

_"Non," _she corrected,_ "je l'aime."_ (No, I love him.)

Amanda was amused at the girl's insistence. _"Mais vous êtes si jeunes!" _(But you are both so young!)

Nyota shrugged. _"Ça ne me dérange pas," _she said.

_"Tu lui diras pour moi?"_ (It's okay. Will you tell him for me?)

Amanda nodded solemnly_. "Je lui dirai," _she promised. (I will tell him.)

Nyota gave Spock a look that made him pull back behind his mother's skirt. _"Puis-je lui donner un baiser?" _she asked sweetly. (May I kiss him?)

"Nyota!" her mother scolded. Amanda held up a hand to the other woman.

_"Il n'aimerait pas ça,"_ she responded firmly. (He would not like that.)

Nyota thought a moment before asking, _" Puis-je lui donner un baiser quand nous serons plus vieux?" _(May I kiss him when we are older?)

Amanda shrugged. _" Peut-être," _she answered(Maybe then.)

Nyota's brilliant smile returned. _" D'accord," _she said brightly_. "Merci." _(Okay. Thank you.)

_"De rien," A_manda replied, bemused. (You are welcome.)

Nyota took Penda's hand and dragged her mother to the art display in the corner of the room.

Spock tugged insistently on Amanda's robes until she knelt and came to his eye-level. He folded his arms in front of himself and demanded crossly, "What did you say about me?"

Amanda smiled gently. "Nyota said that she likes you very much," she replied.

"And what else?" Spock queried.

"She thinks you're cute," Amanda said with a twinkle.

Spock pulled himself up to his full height. "I don't want to be cute," he intoned. "I want to be Vulcan."

Amanda laughed with delight. "Oh, Baby, I can think of at least _two_ very cute Vulcans," she said as she tickled him.

Spock wiggled and pushed his mother's hands away.

"Did you tell her to stop kissing me?" he asked.

Amanda froze. "She kissed you before?" she asked. "When did she kiss you?"

Spock lowered his head in shame. "When you had to come here 'cuz I was crying."

Amanda remembered the night terror Spock had suffered during naptime, one so bad that she and Sarek had to come and calm him down. Amanda reached out and pulled her son's chin up.

"That was a long time ago," she whispered. Amanda noticed that just the memory of that nightmare was enough to unsettle Spock. A change of subjects was in order, so Amanda stood, took Spock's hand and led him to the Science display. "I told Nyota that you would not like to be kissed," she said as they crossed the room.

Spock's relief was palpable. "Good," he sighed. "Now, maybe you can talk to Chrissy for me and tell her the same thing."

Amanda's surprised, delighted laughter filled the daycare center.

END

See "Bestest Friends In All the Galaxy"

Title: Open House (DAYCARE SERIES)

Author: Ster Julie

Rating: G

Code: Spock, Amanda, Uhura (AU; daycare)

Part 1/1

A/N: Thank you Karracaz for the inspiration. Thank you Lucky from scifispace dot com for the translation.

--ooOoo--

Passing the great faux-glass windows at the front of the building, Amanda caught a reflection of herself being pulled into the daycare center by a very eager son. She laughed inwardly at the comical sight of her bright blue gown (Spock's favorite) flapping behind her as she was rushed into the school.

"Please hurry, Mommy," Spock urged. "We are late already."

"We are not late, Baby," she cooed as she came to a stop in front of the door. '''Open House' means that the doors will be unlocked during a specific time and that we may come and go as we please. We are not late."

Spock couldn't grasp the idea. Vulcan doors were never locked and if an event was supposed to start at a certain time, all participants were expected to be there from the beginning. Spock dragged open the door and said, "C'mon, Mommy!"

Amanda shook her head ruefully and entered the daycare center with her zealous son.

"I see you were dragged here early, too," a warm, lilting voice sounded.

Amanda turned towards the speaker and found herself eye to eye with a stunning African woman. Amanda's eyes were drawn to the robes the woman sported. They were made of a rich, deep red cloth embossed with gold stars and crescent moons. The woman was adorned with hammered gold jewelry and sported a small girl on one leg.

"I am Penda Uhura," the woman said, extending her hand to Amanda, "and this child clutching at me is my daughter Nyota."

"I am pleased to meet you, Penda," Amanda replied, extending her own hand.

Spock remembered his manners and stepped forward before Amanda could continue.

"Peace and long life, " he said extending his small hand in the _ta'al_. "I am Spock _cha_ Sarek _cha_ Skon, and this is my mother, Amanda Grayson, _aduna_ Sarek _cha _Skon _cha_ Solkar."

Penda's gaze dropped to the small Vulcan boy in surprise then back up to Amanda.

"My husband is the Vulcan ambassador to Earth," Amanda supplied.

Penda nodded. She extended her hand to Spock, saying, "That was some introduction, young man. I am very pleased to meet you."

Spock hid shyly behind his mother and just turned large dark eyes at the woman and her offending hand.

"Vulcan's are touch telepaths," Amanda whispered. "They do not like to be touched."

Penda nodded again.

Nyota, for her part, clutched at her mother's legs like a shield.

"Come out here, Nyo," Penda urged in her own tongue, "no one is going to eat you!" but Nyota only pulled back farther.

Amanda listened to the woman speaking and crouched down to eye level with the tiny girl.

_"Jambo,_ Nyota Uhura!" Amanda said pleasantly.

Nyota popped her head out behind her mother's knees in shock.

_"Jambo,_ Missus!" she replied in a sweet little voice. "You speak Swahili!"

Amanda shrugged. "Only a little."

"I speak Swahili!" Nyota said happily, "and Ibo and French, and Arabic, and Standard, 'course, and . . . "

"And you will talk our heads off if we let you!" Penda chided playfully, tousling the girl's hair affectionately.

"My!" Amanda declared, "that is a lot of languages. I know a lot of languages, too, so I can teach others how to speak Standard. What do you do with all those languages?"

"I talk to my friends." Nyota replied, "and I help them talk to each other."

Amanda smiled. She had found a kindred soul!

"Ah," Amanda remarked, "you are a communicator."

Nyota wrinkled her nose. "A com-moo-nicator is a talk box," she complained. "I'm not a talk box!"

Amanda smiled gently. "Indeed, you are not that kind of communicator," she agreed with the girl, "but anyone that helps two people speak to each other helps them to communicate. Isn't that what you do when you help your friends to talk to each other?"

Nyota nodded. She sneaked a peek at Spock who was standing quietly next to the two mothers.

_"Madame?" _Nyota began, taking a chance that one of the many languages Amanda spoke was French.

_"Oui?" _Amanda replied, intrigued that a child so young could speak so many languages.

_"Madame, j'aime votre fils," _Nyota confided to Amanda. (Ma'am, I love your son.)

Penda's eyes widened at her daughter's declaration of love for the Vulcan boy.

Amanda looked down at her son and back at the little girl. "_Vraiment?"_ (Really?)

_"Oui," _Nyota responded_. "Je le trouve beau." _(Yes. I think he's cute.)

Spock noticed that his mother and his classmate were speaking in some foreign language--about _him!_

_"Tu veux dire que tu l'aimes," _Amanda clarified, _"en tant qu'ami?"_ (You mean you like him, as a friend?)

Spock grew nervous at the exchange of words, of the looks his mother and the girl were giving him, of Nyota almost predatory smile.

_"Non," _she corrected,_ "je l'aime."_ (No, I love him.)

Amanda was amused at the girl's insistence. _"Mais vous êtes si jeunes!" _(But you are both so young!)

Nyota shrugged. _"Ça ne me dérange pas," _she said. _"Tu lui diras pour moi?"_ (It's okay. Will you tell him for me?)

Amanda nodded solemnly_. "Je lui dirai," _she promised. (I will tell him.)

Nyota gave Spock a look that made him pull back behind his mother's skirt. _"Puis-je lui donner un baiser?" _she asked sweetly. (May I kiss him?)

"Nyota!" her mother scolded. Amanda held up a hand to the other woman.

_"Il n'aimerait pas ça,"_ she responded firmly. (He would not like that.)

Nyota thought a moment before asking, _" Puis-je lui donner un baiser quand nous serons plus vieux?" _(May I kiss him when we are older?)

Amanda shrugged. _" Peut-être," _she answered (Maybe then.)

Nyota's brilliant smile returned. _" D'accord," _she said brightly_. "Merci." _(Okay. Thank you.)

_"De rien," A_manda replied, bemused. (You are welcome.)

Nyota took Penda's hand and dragged her mother to the art display in the corner of the room.

Spock tugged insistently on Amanda's robes until she knelt and came to his eye-level. He folded his arms in front of himself and demanded crossly, "What did you say about me?"

Amanda smiled gently. "Nyota said that she likes you very much," she replied.

"And what else?" Spock queried.

"She thinks you're cute," Amanda said with a twinkle.

Spock pulled himself up to his full height. "I don't want to be cute," he intoned. "I want to be Vulcan."

Amanda laughed with delight. "Oh, Baby, I can think of at least two _very_ cute Vulcans," she said as she tickled him.

Spock wiggled and pushed his mother's hands away.

"Did you tell her to stop kissing me?" he asked.

Amanda froze. "She kissed you before?" she asked. "When did she kiss you?"

Spock lowered his head in shame. "When you had to come here 'cuz I was crying." (See "Bestest Friends In All the Galaxy" in my author's list here at remembered the night terror Spock had suffered during naptime, one so bad that she and Sarek had to come and calm him down. Amanda reached out and pulled her son's chin up.

"That was a long time ago," she whispered. Amanda noticed that just the memory of that nightmare was enough to unsettle Spock. A change of subjects was in order, so Amanda stood, took Spock's hand and led him to the Science display. "I told Nyota that you would not like to be kissed," she said as they crossed the room.

Spock's relief was palpable. "Good," he sighed. "Now, maybe you can talk to Chrissy for me and tell her the same thing."

Amanda's surprised, delighted laughter filled the daycare center.

END


	5. The Mother's Day Project

**THE DAYCARE SERIES**

The Mother's Day Project

**by Ster Julie**

Rating: G

Codes: K, S, the Gang (AU, daycare)

--ooOoo--

It was the girls who oohed and aahed over the extra art supplies in the classroom. There were paints and paper, paste and safety scissors, yarn and lace, chenille stems, buttons beads, baubles, and many colors of crayons on the project tables.

Spock eyed the assortment curiously.

"Are you taking inventory, Mr. R?" he asked.

"What's in-va-tory?" Jimmy whispered.

"That's when you count up all the stuff you have," Spock replied quietly.

"No, Spock," Mr. R replied. "Today we are making gifts for Mother's Day."

"Yay!" the girls cried.

"Mug-aah!" Pavel cooed.

"What's Mother's Day?" Spock asked. A gasp went up from the other children.

"Ye don't know about Mudder's Day?" Montie asked incredulously.

"May he don't gots a mother," Lennie teased. "Maybe he just hatched from an egg."

Spock crossed his arms and gave Lennie a dark look.

Chrissie poked Lennie as the others giggled.

"That's not nice, Lennie," she corrected. "Spock has a real pretty mommy."

"Yeah," Hikaru chimed in. "She's been here b'fore."

"Mother's Day," Mr. R explained patiently, "is an Earth custom. One day a year, everyone honors his or her mother."

"How?" Spock asked, putting Lennie's teasing behind him.

"Oh, there are many traditions," Mr. R continued. "Some people give cards, gifts, special foods, and such. They make a point of being extra kind."

"We should always be kind, every day, especially to our mommies," Spock observed.

"Yes," Mr. R concurred.

"It's kinda like an extra birfday party for your mommy," Jimmy helped to explain.

"We don't celebrate birthdays on Vulcan," Spock stated. Another gasp.

"No birfdays?" Jimmy breathed.

"They prolly don't gots Christmas or Easter neither," Lennie sneered.

"Spock," Mr. R continued, "you're right in saying we should be kind to our parents every day instead of just one day a year. However, our activity for today will be to make a gift for our mothers."

"Even you, Mr. R?" Nyota asked sweetly.

"Even me," he answered. The girls put their hands to their mouths and giggled at the thought of Mr. R having a mommy at his age. "Let's get started, shall we? Everyone close your eyes. Think about your mother. What does she like? What is her favorite color? What would she like to receive from you?" He gave the children time to think as an aide took little Pavel to the tables. The toddler was soon up to his elbows in red paint. "Alright, open your eyes. What ideas did you get?"

Lennie's hand shot up.

"I want to decorate a flower pot where Mommy can grow the plants she likes," he said.

"Very good, Lennie," Mr. R responded. "Go get your apron and the aide will get you started."

"Ah want ta build a box where m'mudder can save her special things," Monte said.

"Good, Montie," Mr. R said, suppressing a shudder as he anticipated the noise of wood being pounded together. "Go get your apron."

"I want to make Mommy a purty necklace," Hikaru announced.

"Good. Go get your apron."

Nyota tugged on Mr. R's sleeve.

"Do you have any cloth?" she asked. "I want to make Mommy a shawl and put my handprints all over it, so I can give her a hug every time she wears it." Mr. R smiled warmly.

"That's a wonderful idea, Nyota," he replied. "I'm sure she'll love it."

Chrissy jumped up. "I'm gonna make a real nice card," she announced.

"We will all make cards this afternoon," Mr. R explained. "What else would you like to make?"

Chrissy put her finger on her lip as she thought.

"How 'bout a picher frame?" she suggested.

"Very good," Mr. R smiled.

The daycare director turned to the last two boys.

"What ideas do you two have?" he asked.

Spock and Jimmy looked despondent.

"My mommy likes the beach," Jimmy began.

"My mommy likes the ocean!" Spock declared as he looked at Jimmy in surprise.

"But how do you make that?" Jimmy puzzled.

Mr. R smiled warmly. "Come and see," he directed. Jimmy and Spock donned their art aprons and followed Mr. R to the worktables. He placed two odd-shaped bottles with stoppers, two liquids, two different kinds of blue dye, some sand and some small shells in front of the boys. He helped them both to open the bottles, add a small amount of sparkling sand and a few small shells to each, then pour some of the first liquid into the bottles until they were half full. After adding a drop of the first blue dye, he had the boys gently stir the mixture until the liquid was a uniform deep blue. Next he had the boys tint the second liquid in another container and then fill the bottles to the very top. He secured the stoppers and sealed them with wax.

"There you are, boys," Mr. R said.

Jimmy and Spock looked at the bottles with the lighter blue liquid on top, darker blue liquid below it, with a layer of sand and shells at the bottom.

"What is it?" Jimmy asked as Spock raised a brow. In answer, Mr. R put a bottle in Jimmy's hands horizontally and encouraged Spock to hold his bottle in the same way. He guided Jimmy's hands to gently rock the bottle.

Soon the two liquids were sloshing side to side, making waves and breakers with the sand and shells gently tossing to and fro.

"What do you think it is?" Mr. R asked the two enraptured boys.

"The ocean!" they cried as one.

"Mommy will like this," Spock said softly as the waves sloshed side to side. "It will be a good Mother's Day present."

"Do we hafta give these to our mommies?" Jimmy asked, mesmerized by the tidal waves in the bottle.

Spock studied the action in the bottles "How come the liquids don't mix, Mr. R?" Spock asked after a while.

"One is oil and one is water," Mr. R explained. "They are so different from each other that they cannot mix together."

"Not ever?" Spock asked.

"Even we shook 'em up real hard?" Jimmy added.

"Not even then," Mr. R replied. "You could get them down to the smallest bits and they would never mix. They would only stay side by side."

The boys watched their bottles.

"They work well together side by side," Spock observed, looking over at Jimmy.

"They look real purty side by side," Jimmy concurred, looking at Spock.

Spock smiled at Jimmy with his eyes. He knew his friend wasn't talking about the bottles or the liquids.

END


	6. The Father's Day Project

**THE DAYCARE SERIES**

The Father's Day Project

**by Ster Julie**

Rating: G

Codes: S, Sa, (AU, daycare)

--ooOoo--

Spock was the last to be picked up from the daycare center. Sarek found his son sitting patiently on the bench in the foyer, waiting for his ride.

Spock looked up at his father, puzzled. "Where's Mommy?" he demanded.

"Your mother is still at her appointment, so I am here to collect you."

Spock looked down at the box he carried in his lap and swung his legs as he thought.

"Is Mommy sick?" he asked in an apprehensive voice.

Sarek sat next to the boy and placed an assuring arm around Spock.

"No, my son," Sarek said softly. "This was just a routine checkup."

Spock recalled his own "routine checkups." They always involved injections and bloodletting and other unpleasantries. "We need to be extra nice to Mommy tonight, then."

"Are we not always 'extra nice' to your mother, cha'i?" Sarek asked gently.

"We should be extra, _extra_ nice to her," Spock expounded. "We should bring her a present."

Sarek motioned to the bow-bedecked box in the boy's lap.

"Is this a present for your mother?"

Spock pulled the box away. "No, this is a present for you, for Sunday," he explained.

Sarek was puzzled. "What is Sunday?"

"Sunday is Fodder's Day," Spock explained. "We're supposed to be nice to our fodders and give 'em presents." Sarek paused to digest this. "I told them that we should honor our fodders every day," Spock continued, "and our mommies, too."

"So, then, every day would be Father's Day," Sarek concluded for his son, "and Mother's Day as well."

"I 'spose."

"So then, your mother and I should expect a gift from you every day," Sarek said with a twinkle.

Spock's eyes grew large as he considered all the trinkets and cards he would have to make in pairs every day for the rest of his life.

"The house would get full of presents real fast," Spock said with mild alarm.

"Well, then," Sarek said as he reached for the gift in Spock's lap," this one will have to suffice for now."

"But it's for Sunday!" Spock protested.

"But, _cha'i,"_ Sarek teased, "did you not tell me that you should honor your father every day? Does that not make today Father's Day as well?"

Spock nodded reluctantly. "Yes, sir," he said in defeat. "But that was 'sposed to be for the one on Sunday."

"May I open this today, " Sarek asked, "or would you rather I wait until Sunday?"

Spock could not contain himself. "Now!" he shouted as he stood on the bench and peered over his father's shoulder.

As Sarek untied the bow, Spock continued. "I tried to make the _ta'al,_ but it broke, so I had to make anodder one."

Sarek removed the lid and moved aside a wad of tissue paper. Nestled inside was a piece of white porcelain, obviously a cast of Spock's small hand. On the palm was written, "Someday I will grow so tall/But this hand will be forever small."

"You made this?" Sarek asked.

"Uh-huh," Spock replied as he bounced up and down and ordered, "Turn it over!"

On the back of the hand, Sarek saw more verses written in Spock's handwriting:

Years from now, remember when

I put my small hand in yours

And you led me through life

and put tomorrow in my grasp.

Your son,

Spock

When Sarek could finally find his voice, he asked, "Did you compose this, _cha'i?"_

"Nah, I just thought of it myself," he answered climbing back down and standing before his father.

Sarek looked at his son in amusement. "To compose something means that you thought it up yourself, Spock."

Spock's face brightened as he realized that he had just learned another new word in his mother's language. "I c'mposed it, all by myself."

Sarek turned the figurine over in his hand. "What is it?" he asked at last.

Spock was dumbfounded. "It's a _hand,_ _A'Nirih!"_

Sarek sat up straight and gave a warning glance to Spock at his tone. "I can see that it is a hand, child. What is its purpose?"

"I dunno," Spock answered meekly. "Maybe it's 'sposed to be like a holopic. You just take it out and look at it when you want to remember when."

Sarek looked at his precocious child. Spock's incipient wisdom was a thing to behold. Sarek returned his new treasure to its box, gathered his son's things and took Spock by the hand.

"Your mother should be ready by now," Sarek explained.

"C'n we get her some ice cream?" Spock asked. "That would be very, very nice for her."

Sarek looked as his son suspiciously. "For her or for you?" he asked.

"Well," Spock began as they moved to the aircar, "she likes it when we join in with her, so we should get some ice cream for us, too."

"I see."

END


	7. Time Out!

**THE DAYCARE SERIES**

TIME OUT!

**by Ster Julie**

Rating: G

Codes: S, Mc, the Gang (AU, daycare)

--ooOoo--

Spock had been watching all morning as Lenny called each of the children into his pretend hospital. All the other children had been called, even Baby Pavel. Lenny had looked into their ears and told them to stick out their tongues. Then he would shake his head and say, "Tsk, tsk." He would then pull out jellybeans that he brought from home and give each of his "patients" one or two, depending on their imagined illnesses. Instead of candy, Lenny gave Pavel one of his old teddy bears that his mommy had washed clean for him. Pavel cooed and bubbled happily over his new treasure. Eventually, everyone had a turn in the pretend hospital.

All except Spock.

Spock had kept one eye on the proceedings in the corner of the playroom, waiting patiently for his turn. When it looked like Lenny was closing up his "clinic" for the day, Spock approached him.

"Am I next?" he asked hesitantly.

"No!" Lenny said unkindly. "I don't know how to treat lizards!"

Spock stood as tall as he could with indignation. "I am not a lizard," he stated coolly. "I'm a Vulcan."

"You're a lizard!" Lenny countered. "When we all run and play, our cheeks get red. When you run and play, you turn green! Lizards are green, so you must be a lizard!"

Spock considered this. Lenny had laid out a logical argument, but one that was full of holes.

"I get green because I gots green blood," Spock countered. He stepped closer and lowered his voice conspiratorially. "Wanna see?" he whispered.

Lenny stepped back. "Whatcha gonna do, Spockie, cut yourself?" he said in fright.

"No," Spock said. "Here, squeeze your finger real hard, like this," Spock said as he demonstrated. "What color is your finger now?"

"Kinda red," Lenny answered. "What about your finger?" Lenny peeked at Spock's hands. "Ew!" he exclaimed. "It's green!"

"Told ya!" Spock replied.

Lenny was curious and drew closer. "Your finger looks like a green olive."

Spock was puzzled. "Whatsa olive?"

Lenny shruggled. "It's like a vegebul, only it's kinda ucky. I like the black ones better."

Spock's ears pricked up at the word "black." He remembered that Lenny was dispensing jellybeans to the other children.

"Black olives?" Spock asked. "Are they like black jellybeans?"

Lenny looked at Spock suspiciously. "What about black jellybeans?" he questioned. The black ones were Lenny's favorites, and he was saving those for himself.

"I noticed that you gave out all the other colors but the black ones," Spock observed. "My mommy gives me the black ones. She says they're ucky, but I like them."

Lenny's eyes brightened. "I don't think they are ucky!" he exclaimed. "I like them, too!" Lenny's voice dropped low. "Know what?" he asked looking around to see if anyone was listening to their conversation.

"What?" Spock whispered back.

"When you eat black jellybeans," Lenny murmured, "your tongue turns black."

"I know," Spock breathed. "It looks scary."

Lenny grinned mischeviously and handed Spock a few black jellybeans. "Let's go scare the girls!" Lenny whispered before popping a few candies into his own mouth.

"'kay!" Spock agreed. He put the jellybeans into his own mouth one at a time and chewed them quickly. "How's this?" he asked before sticking out his tongue.

Lenny almost choked on his own candy. "That's _real_ scary, Spockie!" he exclaimed. "Your tongue is green and black! That'll scare everybody!"

The two boys rushed the table where the others were preparing for art time. Lenny and Spock stuck out their tongues at not just the girls, but at all of the children. At the sight of the red/black and green/black tongues inches from their faces, the children screamed and ran from the table.

Mr. R took in the proceedings in one glance.

"Lenny!" he called. "Spock! Time out!"

Lenny visibly deflated. Spock froze in fright. He had never _ever_ been given a time out before.

Lenny took Spock's hand and led him over to the bench by Mr. R's door. Lenny sat down sulkily. Spock sat slowly, despondently.

"It was just a joke," Lenny muttered. He looked as his bench mate and noticed how pale he was. "Whassa matter, Spockie?" he asked with concern.

"I've never been in Time Out before," Spock whispered with fright. "Are they gonna tell our mommies and daddies that we got in trouble?"

"I 'spose," Lenny replied.

Near tears, Spock asked, "What's gonna happen?"

"I'll prolly get another whoopin,'" Lenny said as he sunk low on the bench.

"Whassa whoopin'?" Spock asked.

"You know, a spankin,'" Lenny replied.

"Whassa spankin'?" Spock asked.

Lenny sat up in shock. "Whassa spankin'?" he echoed. "Haven't you ever had a spankin'?"

"I dunno," Spock shrugged.

"A spankin' it were they hit you on the butt until it hurts and makes you cry," Lenny explained. "If your smart," he muttered, "you cry right away."

Spock began to shake. "The bad man hit me on the butt last year," he whined. "He hit me all over and . . . " Spock began to wail.

Lenny quickly threw his arms around Spock. "Don't cry!" he said soothingly. "It won't be like when the bad man beat you up!" Lenny was ashamed of himself and began to cry as well. "I'm sorry for getting you in trouble, Spockie!" he wept.

Mr. R has gotten the other children calmed down and back into their seats when he noticed the commotion coming from the Time Out bench. The two crying boys made a pitiful yet comical sight. They both were crying with opened mouths, which exposed their tongues, tongues still black from the jellybeans they had consumed.

Mr. R sighed and shook his head. He knelt before the two boys to put himself at their eye level.

"I don't wanna whoopin'!" Lenny cried.

"I don't wanna have somebody hurt my butt!" Spock wailed.

Mr. R put his arms out and scooped a weeping child into each arm.

"Now, Lenny," he began, "what have I told you about scaring the other children?"

Lenny replied with louder sobs. "I sorry!"

Mr. R turned to Spock. "I don't remember you _ever _getting into trouble before, Spock."

Spock wailed his response.

Mr. R turned back to Lenny. "Now, Lenny," he said gently, "You're a little older. You should be a good example to the other children, not get them into trouble with you."

Lenny passed the back of his hand over his eyes and snuffled in response.

"And, Spock," Mr. R said as he turned to the other weeping boy, "if someone tells you to do something and you don't think it's the right thing to do, you shouldn't do it. Right?"

Spock wiped his nose on his sleeve and nodded. "Yes, sir."

Mr. R kissed both boys on the forehead and said, "Now go to the Quiet Corner and talk about what I said," he ordered. "I want you to come up with your best apology for the other children and a plan for better behavior in the future. Understood?"

Both boys nodded.

"Now, I don't think this minor incident warrants a call to your parents," Mr. R said as he set the boys back down. Lenny nearly collapsed in relief.

"What does that mean?" Spock asked.

"It means no whoopin'!" Lenny crowed.

"No one's gonna hurt my butt?" Spock asked.

"Nope!" Lenny said with a grin as he grabbed Spock's hand and headed for the Quiet Corner.

Lenny looked over at Spock as he knelt on one of the pillows. This little alien boy was not so strange anymore. He could have blamed the whole incident on Lenny, but Spock chose not to tell. Lenny moved closer to Spock.

"You're real nice, you know that, Spockie?" Lenny asked.

"I try to be nice to everyone," Spock replied.

"I sorry I got you in trouble," Lenny apologized.

"S'okay," Spock shrugged.

"And I sorry I called you a lizard," Lenny continued.

Spock shrugged again. "S'okay," he repeated. "You just made a mistake." Spock cocked his head to the side and looked at Lenny.

"Lenny?" he began shyly.

"Huh?" Lenny grunted.

"Why do you always tease me?" he asked.

Lenny shrugged. "I dunno. I guess I tease you 'cause I don't unnerstand you."

Spock drew himself closer. "Maybe when you unnerstand me, we can be friends."

"Yeah," Lenny grinned. "That would be real nice!"

END


	8. Rivals

**THE DAYCARE SERIES**

Rivals

**by Ster Julie**

Rating: G

Codes: K, S, Mc, the Gang

Code: K&S (AU, daycare)

--ooOoo--

It all came to a head the day Spock fell out of that tree.

Jimmy had led his "crew" on an adventure.

"Whassa 'venture?" Spock whispered to Lenny.

"Knowing Jimmy," Lenny muttered, "it's sumthin' where we all get in trouble."

Spock was puzzled. "So why are we gonna do it?"

"Cuz it's 'xciting!" Jimmy responded, having overheard the boys. "Nobody's 'llowed to mutiny on my ship! Let's go."

"Go where?" Spock asked.

"Where nobody's gone before!" Jimmy grinned. "We're gonna be 'xplorers!"

There was a leafy tree in the corner of the playground. Mr. R called it The Reading Tree because he would sometimes sit beneath it and read to the children when the weather was fine.

"We're gonna climb that mountain and defend ourselves from the Rom'lans," Jimmy declared.

"Who are the Rom'lans?" Spock asked. The other children groaned. Spock was asking _way_ too many questions. Playtime would be over before they even began their adventure.

"Who are the Rom'lans?" Jimmy asked, aghast. "My granddaddy and a coupla his brudders died in the war against them."

"Whadda they look like?" Spock continued.

Jimmy pulled himself up to his full height. "Nobody knows," he said, "but they were the meanest meanies ever in space. They fought real dirty. And if they were dirty and mean, they must be the _ugliest _things in the whole galaxy!"

Spock was speechless as he contemplated the illogic of Jimmy's little tirade. Just then, Spock noticed that the other children had run off with Jimmy. Not wanting to be left alone, Spock hurried to catch up with the others.

The rest of the children had helped each other to shimmy up the tree before Spock had arrived. There was no one to help him climb up to where the other children were. Spock had no idea how to do this himself.

"I'll help you, Spockie," Lenny called. "Wait right there."

Jimmy was indignant. "This is _my_ adventure and Spockie is _my_ friend," he insisted. _"I'll_ help him."

"Spockie's _my_ friend!" Lenny shouted. _"I'm_ gonna help him!"

Monty shook his head as he gazed at the two boys tussling on the branch. "Why dinnae ye _both_ help Spockie up the tree and be done wi' it?" he suggested sagely. "We're wastin' time!"

Jimmy and Lenny looked at each other, then down at Spock. Jimmy draped himself over a branch, wrapped his legs around it and extended a hand to Spock. Lenny took Jimmy's cue and did the same.

Spock looked uncertainly at the height of the branch and at the two small hands proffered to him.

"Its okay, Spockie," Lenny encouraged. "Grab our hands and we'll pull you up."

"C'mon, Spockie," Jimmy added as he grew impatient.

Spock took the two hands in his own and asked, "Now what?"

_"Jump!"_ both boys shouted as one.

Spock jumped and the boys pulled with all their small might, but they couldn't get Spock all the way onto the branch.

"Wrap your legs around the branch, Spockie!" Jimmy ordered.

Spock kicked his little legs and finally hooked one over the branch. Jimmy and Lenny pulled on Spock's clothes to help him up.

Spock finally settled himself on the branch and looked down. "We're real high up," he observed quietly.

"Yeah," Lenny agreed in similar tones. "Now you be real careful or you'll fall."

Jimmy's eyes narrowed at the sight of Spock and Lenny whispering together. He decided that he didn't like the attention Lenny had been lavishing on his friend lately. Jimmy was nice to Spock from the beginning. Lenny used to tease Spock, a _lot,_ Jimmy remembered. He reached out and pulled on Spock's sleeve.

"Come sit by me, Spockie," Jimmy ordered.

Lenny saw that Spock was having difficulty keeping his balance on the branch.

"Don't, Jimmy!" Lenny warned. "You're gonna make him fall!"

Jimmy shot Lenny a hateful glance. "Spockie's _my_ friend. You didn't even _like_ him before!"

Lenny put his arm out to steady Spock. "Jimmy!" Lenny shouted. "Stop pulling!"

"Shut up!" Jimmy ordered. "You can't tell me what to do!"

_THUD!_

Suddenly, Spock found himself looking up into the tree. He could see the faces of two girls and four boys peering down at him. Spock put his hand to the back of his head and felt something wet and hot and hurting. When he brought his hand back before his face, it was covered in green blood.

Most of the children screamed. They all jumped out of the tree like ripe fruit falling in a heavy wind.

Little Hikaru was just scared and ran willy-nilly away from the tree. Monty ran after him to make sure he was okay.

Nyota ran to a nearby faucet, took off her kerchief, soaked it in water and ran back to the tree.

Chrissy took the pink ribbon out of her hair and pulled out the small packet of facial tissues she always carried in her pocket.

"I'll go get Mr. R," Jimmy said sadly, guilty tears filling his eyes. He ran back to the center as fast as he could pump his little legs.

"Now don't move, Spockie," Lenny said quietly to his stunned friend. "You're not 'posta move when you fall until somebody checks you out."

Spock looked into Lenny's eyes as the boy's face hovered above his.

"You gots nice eyes, Lenny," Spock observed dreamily. "They're nice and blue, just like my mommy's."

Lenny smiled shyly as he slipped some of Chrissy's tissues under the wound. "Now, just lie quietly," he ordered as he slipped the ribbon under Spock's head, tsking to himself that he was putting a pretty pink ribbon on a boy. Lenny was careful not to tie the ribbon too tightly around Spock's head. He also tried very hard not to catch any of Spock's hair in the knot, and for the most part was successful. Finally, he took Nyota's wet kerchief and passed it over Spock's face and bloodied hand.

"You're blood is really green!" Lenny observed.

"Told ya," Spock replied.

Lenny shuddered. "It's weird!"

Spock was indignant. "It's not weird," he replied. "It's just differ'nt."

Just then, Mr. R arrived on the scene, first aid kit in hand. He took in the sight of Spock on the ground, Lenny hovering over him with Chrissy at his elbow ready to hand him another tissue. Mr. R smiled at the pink bow and wad of tissue that Spock sported on his head.

"Well, I see that you don't need me," he observed playfully to Lenny and Spock. "But just to be sure, let me take a look and give a second opinion."

Mr. R waved a standard Federation Red Cross issue medical tricorder over Spock. It showed nothing more than a small cut on the back of the boy's head. After sitting Spock up, Mr. R removed Lenny's makeshift bandage and was surprised to see that it had adequately staunched the trickle of blood. He cleansed the wound and then sealed it up with a dermalaser.

"Now," Mr. R began, "How did this happen?"

"We all climbed the tree," Spock explained.

"And how many times have I told you _not_ to climb the tree?" Mr. R asked.

Lenny looked down and shoved a pebble with his toe.

"'Nuff," he replied.

"Obviously it _wasn't_ enough," Mr. R chided gently. "You still climbed the tree." He looked back at Spock. "How did you fall?"

Spock and Lenny exchanged knowing looks.

"Jimmy wanted me to sit by him," Spock answered. "He kept pulling on me and I lost my balance and falled down."

"I _tole_ him to stop," Lenny interjected. "But Jimmy wouldn't listen. I think he's jealous."

"I'm sure Jimmy thinks you stole his friend while he was absent, Lenny," Mr. R replied gently. "He's on the Time Out bench now, thinking things over. Why don't you go over and talk to him?"

Spock's eyes grew huge. "Are _we_ in Time Out, too?" he asked fearfully.

Mr. R smiled gently. "No, Spock," he replied. "Think of it as The Discussion Bench right now."

"'Kay," Spock answered in relief. He took Lenny's hand and started walking over to where Jimmy sat so forlorn. "C'mon, Lenny."

For his part, Lenny moved reluctantly. He looked around and saw a now-smiling Hikaru being pushed on the swings by Monty, Nyota and Chrissy squealing with delight on the teeter-totter, and Baby Pavel playing on a blanket on the shaded porch.

Lenny thought about how persuasive Jimmy could be and feared that he would lose his new friend to the charismatic child. His steps began to slow until Spock was pulling Lenny over to the bench.

"Lenny?" Spock questioned.

"Do we havta go, Spockie?" Lenny whined as they came to a stop.

"We gotta see that Jimmy is alright," Spock answered, resuming his trek.

"Okay," Lenny relented, "but let's hurry. Playtime is almost over!"

Spock approached Jimmy quietly. He could hear the boy sniffling and knew that Jimmy had been crying. Spock sat down on the bench next to Jimmy, while Lenny sat next to Spock.

"Why are you in Time Out?" Jimmy asked without turning his head.

"This is The Discussion Bench right now," Spock explained. "Mr. R said so."

Jimmy looked down the bench at Spock, then Lenny, then down at Spock and Lenny's hands, still clasped together. He returned to staring straight ahead.

"What are we supposed to discuss?" Jimmy asked in an icy tone.

"How I can be friends with Lenny," Spock explained quietly, "while I am still friends with you. Can't we be friends togedder?"

Jimmy snorted with derision. "Who says I _wanna_ be friends with Lenny?" he shouted. "All he does is play with dolls in his stupid pretend hospital. He never wants to play spaceships wif me!"

"I went on your dumb, ol' adventure, today!" Lenny protested. "And my playing with dolls was practice for taking care of Spockie today!"

Spock looked sadly at his first friend. "Jimmy, doesn't a spaceship need a doctor?" he reasoned. "And if I am going to be your science guy, I have to know about med'cine, too, cuz it's science, too. I need to learn 'bout med'cine, and Lenny has to learn 'bout takin' care of Vulcans." Spock laid his hand on Jimmy's. "Please don't be jealous that Lenny and I are friends."

Jimmy eyed how Spock was clutching Lenny's hand as opposed to the light touch that Spock had on his own hand. It was hard not to be jealous, Jimmy found.

"Go learn 'bout med'cine, then, Spockie," Jimmy said quietly. "I'm gonna sit here and think some more."

Lenny jumped off the bench and pulled on Spock's hand.

"C'mon, Spockie," he said excitedly. "I wanna start teachin' you 'bout med'cine." Spock stood, unsure, looking from one friend to the other. Jimmy's sad demeanor was pulling at Spock as surely as Lenny's tugging on the Vulcan boy's hand.

Spock thought a moment. Lenny had said mean things about him when they first met, but those were only words. Today, Lenny helped Spock so that he would be safe in a dangerous situation. And when Spock fell and got hurt, Lenny took good care of him.

On the other hand, Jimmy was nothing but kind to Spock since the day they met. However, his reckless actions today put Spock in danger, which caused him to be hurt. It seemed that when Jimmy was on an adventure, only the adventure mattered.

In the end, Spock ran off hand-in-hand with Lenny.

"There's some neat 'natomy programs on the compooter," Lenny said enthusiastically as the two boys moved away. "I can show you what humans look like on the inside, and you can show me about Vulcans."

"'Kay!" Spock replied.

Jimmy took in the sight of the two friends happily going off together as a tear tracked down his cheek.

"Bye, Spockie," Jimmy whispered.

-

END


	9. The Field Trip Disaster

**THE DAYCARE SERIES**

The Field Trip Disaster

**by Ster Julie**

Rating: G

Codes: K, S, the Gang (AU, daycare)

A/N: Sequel to "Rivals"

Dedication: To all of my former students, and all the fieldtrips we experienced, and all the mishaps. SIGH

--ooOoo--

The fight had begun the day Spock fell out of that tree, but it continued through the following days. It simmered and festered between Jimmy and Lenny over Spock. Oh, there were no knockdown, drag-out fights. No punches were thrown. No names were called. The fighting was much subtler. When Lenny was paper monitor, he did not give Jimmy a piece of paper. When Jimmy picked up the crayons, he left Lenny's behind on the table.

Mr. R didn't notice.

Spock did. He thought about it a lot. Spock wanted to ask his mother or father about the problem, but he was afraid that they would take him out of daycare and away from all his new friends. No, Spock decided to puzzle this one out for himself.

The long-awaited day came for the field trip to the caverns. The children had studied about their formation and were very excited about the trip. Now, the handbook said that there had to be adult supervision for the children in a ratio of one to ten. Since there were only seven children, Mr. R thought he and his aide could handle the group alone.

First mistake.

There was a tussle on the bus to see who would sit by Spock. Three boys tried to crowd into one bench until Mr. R settled them onto three separate seats. The stern warning he gave them was silently endured, then ignored. Behind the adult's backs, dark looks and stuck-out tongues passed between Jimmy and Lenny the whole trip. Spock was bewildered. He _knew_ they could all be friends, but how?

There was a ruckus as the children arrived at the caverns at last. Mr. R's first action for the day was to take all of the children to the restroom. Dorothy, the aide, took the girls and Baby Pavel to the ladies' room while Mr. R saw to the other boys' needs. He placed Jimmy and Lenny at either end of the line of urinals, just in case. There was peace until Jimmy "accidentally" tossed his used paper towel at Lenny instead of into the receptacle. Mr. R intercepted Lenny's paper towel mid-flight and scolded both boys again as Spock looked on, eyes wide and very sad.

As pre-arranged, both groups met up at the elevator. As they were boarding one of the cars for the trip down, Chrissy realized that she left something in the restroom and ran off to get it. Nyota ran after her so she wouldn't go alone. Dorothy started after both girls, Baby Pavel on her hip. Mr. R ordered the boys, " Do _not_ move! Do _not _touch any buttons!" and stepped out only far enough to retrieve Baby Pavel.

Mistake number two.

Of _course_ Lenny took that moment to push Jimmy against the wall.

_"That's_ for throwing that towel at me!" Lenny bellowed.

Jimmy gave him a mighty shove.

"Well, _that's_ for stealing Spockie away from me!" he hollered back.

Lenny lunged at Jimmy. Spock lunged at them both.

"Stop it!" he cried, "just stop it! We can all be friends."

_"Never!" _the two boys shouted as they lunged for each other again.

In all the tussling, poor little Hikaru was bumped and he stumbled against the control panel.

Suddenly, the doors began to close.

_"Stop!" _Mr. R called out.

Five pair of frightened eyes peered out the doors as they closed and the car started moving down.

Hikaru began to cry.

Jimmy, Lenny, and Spock all froze.

Monty went to the control panel, pried it open and began to examine the buttons. There was a big red one with an X on it.

"This or nuthin,'" he muttered as he pushed it.

The high-speed lift came to a screeching halt, causing all the boys to topple like a bunch of drunks. This only made Hikaru cry harder. The rest of the boys scrambled to their feet and began to push all of the buttons. This only caused confusion to the lift's computerized controls, and as a consequence, the lift car jammed itself sideways in the tight shaft.

It really wasn't so bad, until the lights flickered out in the car. Then all five little boys felt like crying.

Low level emergency lighting came on, giving the interior of the car an eerie glow. Next, a speaker panel buzzed to life.

"Children?" came an adult voice.

The five little boys jumped in fright at the strange sound.

"Boys?" Mr. R called.

"Y-yes s-sir," they stammered.

"Is everyone all right?" he asked.

"Y-yes s-sir," they repeated.

"Good," Mr. R replied. "Now, listen to me. The maintenance crew is going to have you out of there in just a few minutes. It's important that you do not push any more buttons. It's also important that you sit very quietly. Try not to talk."

"Or we'll run out of ox'gen, huh, Mr. R!" Lenny replied proudly.

"Well, that won't happen for some time, Lenny," Mr. R responded, "so you needn't worry about the air supply."

"He _said_ not to talk, Lenny!" Jimmy muttered.

"Shut up!" Lenny yelled.

_"You_ shut up!" Jimmy hollered back.

"Boys! _BOYS!"_ Mr. R thundered over the loudspeakers.

"Yes, sir?" the boys replied in unison.

"The Quiet Game begins _now!"_ he barked. "The next one that speaks has privileges revoke for two days!"

Five wide pair of astonished eyes looked at the little speaker in the lift car. Mr. R almost _never_ raised his voice to them.

Spock looked from Jimmy to Lenny and back. Lenny was looking at his knees as he sat on the floor. He didn't want to get into any more trouble. As it was, his granddad would whoop him good for what had already occurred.

Jimmy sat sullenly, his elbows on his knees, his head resting on his fists. Jimmy had promised his dad that he would be good while Lt. Cdr. Kirk was away. Jimmy felt especially bad that he had let his dad down again.

Monty had finally gotten Hikaru to stop crying and was sitting with his arm around the little boy. He kept eying the buttons and wires on the control panel. He was itching to try to get the lift car to start moving again.

Spock stopped studying his warring friends and began to inspect the lift car from his place on the floor. They had already been instructed not to touch anything on the control panel, so that was out. Spock knew he was stronger than the other boys, even the older boys Lenny and Monty, but he didn't think he was strong enough to pry open the lift doors. And what good would that do when the rock face was only a few centimeters from the door?

Spock continued to look around the car. Suddenly, he spotted a square outline in the ceiling. It was too small for an adult to traverse, but a child could easily pass through the opening.

Only thing was it was too high to reach.

Spock tried to estimate the height of the cab, but found it difficult from his vantage point on the car floor.

So he stood up carefully.

The other boys gasped. Jimmy stared at Spock, then flashed a glance at the floor, saying very clearly with his eyes, "Sit down!"

Spock gestured to the other boys that they should form a living chain. He pointed two fingers down, then placed two fingers from his other hand on the back of his other hand. He repeated the gesture, each time moving his hands higher and higher. Then he pointed out their order. He would be first because he was the strongest. Monty would come next, then Lenny, Jimmy and finally Hikaru.

Spock was worried the maneuver would hurt him. He was the strongest, but he had never had four boys stand on his shoulders all at once before. However, he was sure that the workers would not be able to enter the car because of the small hatch.

Spock also worried that the oxygen level was getting low. The arguing earlier and the subsequent panting after the fight quickly had to have lessened their supply.

Spock clapped his hands together once and centered himself. Jimmy and Hikaru recognized the move and imitated it. Their sensei had taught it to them in their karate classes. Monty and Lenny thought the others were praying so they clasped their hands and bowed their little heads.

Spock got his feet into a shoulder-wide position, bent his knees slightly, and tapped Monty to climb onto his shoulders. Once there, Lenny climbed awkwardly up onto Monty's shoulders. Jimmy scampered up the human ladder like he did the Reading Tree back at Daycare.

Hikaru hesitated. Spock squatted carefully (He had never lifted so much weight before!) and Monty reached a hand down. Hikaru took the proffered hand and shimmied up the other boys. He raised his hands but he could not touch the ceiling panel.

Spock straightened carefully. Monty took his example and did the same, as did Lenny. Jimmy took little Hikaru by the waist to lift him further.

Hikaru was ticklish and began to squirm!

The whole tower of boys nearly toppled over!

Monty and Lenny put out their hands to steady everyone. Jimmy tried to lift Hikaru again. This time the boy raised his hands high and burst through the panel.

"Hello!" he smiled to one of the rescuers.

After the shock of seeing one of the boys pop out of the jammed lift car had passed, the worker took Hikaru from Jimmy's grasp and passed him to the next worker. The first rescuer then leaned back down and pulled Jimmy through the hatch. Lenny reached as high as he could and was extracted. Monty carefully stood on Spock's shoulders and was taken out next.

After all that weight was released from his little shoulders, Spock collapsed onto the floor of the lift car. The rescuer started barking out orders, but Spock had simply needed to catch his breath. After a few moments of rest, Spock got to his feet and jumped as high as he could into the air. The rescuer caught his wrist and pulled the Vulcan boy to safety.

The other four boys clapped happily from their new perch on the hover panel that floated above the lift car. Spock climbed aboard and the other boys all smiled and patted him on the back.

The rescuers were flabbergasted that not one of the children spoke a word as they floated up the shaft, finally coming to the conclusion that they were mute.

Mr. R met them at the door of the disabled lift.

"Quiet game is over, boys," he said softly.

"Spockie saved us!" Hikaru announced.

"Aye," Monty chimed in. "He's verra strong."

"Spockie, are you okay?" Lenny asked, rubbing his friend's back. He found Jimmy's hand there already and cast a wary glance at the other boy.

Jimmy for his part only had eyes for Spock.

"Spockie?" Jimmy asked. "Did you get hurt?"

Spock tried to shrug, then winced. He nodded.

"A little," Spock admitted.

Lenny continued to rub Spock's back. Jimmy came to the front and began to rub Spock's shoulders.

"You did real good, Spockie," Jimmy said softly.

"Yeah," Lenny concurred. "You saved us."

"No," Spock commented. "I only got us to work togedder. Working togedder saved us." He looked at his two friends. "Jimmy, Lenny," Spock began, "I don't wanna be friends with just one of you at a time. Can't we all be friends all a time?"

Jimmy looked at Lenny. Lenny eyed Jimmy. As if on cue, the two boys smiled together.

Mr. R gathered the whole group of boys into one big bear hug so they wouldn't see the tears of relief in his eyes. He then led them over to the rest of the group.

"Now, is this the end of the fighting?" he asked. Seven heads bobbed solemnly. Even Baby Pavel nodded, imitating the others. "Let me show you something," Mr. R continued as he pulled out the data disks that contained each child's permission slip and medical release form in case of emergency. Mr. R balanced each disk until they stood on end and all in a row.

"Remember how all this started today?" he asked the group.

Jimmy ducked his head and peeked at Lenny.

"I wanted Spockie to sit by me, and so did Lenny," he answered.

Lenny piped up, "Yeah, and when no one could sit by Spockie, I got mad at Jimmy."

"What happened next?" Mr. R prompted.

"I ran away from the group," Chrissy admitted sadly.

"And I ran after her!" Nyota added.

"Then what happened when I went to get the baby from Miss Dorothy?" asked Mr. R.

"I pushed Jimmy for throwing that ucky paper towel at me earlier," Lenny disclosed.

"Then I pushed him back," Jimmy confessed, "and that made Hik bump the button on the elelator."

"Then the doors closed," Spock contributed.

"An' then ah opened the control box and pushed buttons . . . " Monty began.

"Hey, we _all_ pushed buttons!" Lenny added.

"Then the car got stuck," Hikaru stated, "an' it was _real_ scary."

Mr. R pointed to the row of colored disks. "This green disk will represent the fight on the bus," he began. "This blue disk will be the fight in the bathroom. The pink disk will be Chrissy running away from the group. The red disk is the fight on the lift that caused Hikaru to bump against the button. And finally this yellow disk will be Monty pushing buttons he didn't have permission to touch. Watch what happens." Mr. R tapped the first disk, which tumbled into the next, which toppled the second, and so on until all the disks were down. "What happened?" he asked.

"They falled down!" the group shouted.

"That's right," Mr. R commended. "Now, what would have happened if I hadn't touched the first disk?"

"They wouldna falled down," Monty announced.

"Very good," Mr. R praised.

Lenny started to cry.

"What's wrong, Lenny?" Spock asked.

"It is all my fault!" he wailed.

"Why do you say that?" Mr. R questioned.

"If I hadn't stolen Jimmy's friend," he sniffed, "Jimmy wouldn't be mad at me. We wouldn't have had the fights. Hikaru wouldn't have bumped into that button." Lenny stopped to gulp some air as he sobbed, _"We'd be in the caverns now!"_

"If I hadn't been so jealous," Jimmy sobbed, "Spockie wouldn't have been hurt."

Soon there was a chorus of cries. Mr. R shook his head at the motley group of weeping moppets. They had all had enough of the domino effect, so he decided to change tactics.

"Tell me about the rescue," he prompted.

"Well," Spock sniffed, "I saw a little door over our heads, but it was too small for the big people to get to us. So I told the boys to get on my shoulders and open the door."

"Yeah, Spockie's _real _strong!" Jimmy revealed.

"Yeah," Lenny concurred, "but I think he got hurt again."

Spock straightened stiffly. "I'm okay," he announced.

Mr. R caressed Spock's head. "We'll have you checked out before we leave," he informed Spock gently.

Mr. R addressed the group again. "You saw that one small incident led to a near disaster," he began as he repositioned the discs and knocked them over easily. "When you all joined forces, like this cord tied around these disks, you were very strong and could work together." Then Mr. R did a curious thing. He untied the cord that bound the disks into one unit, shuffled them around a bit and re-tied the bundle. "It doesn't matter who is closer to whom in the group. Together the group is just as strong."

The three instigators of the ruckus looked at each other shyly. Spock took Jimmy's hand in his.

"Bestest friends?" Spock asked shyly.

Jimmy squeezed Spock's hand. "In all the galaxy."

Spock took Lenny's hand in his free hand. "Bestest friends?" Spock asked again.

"Forever an'ever," Lenny swore.

Jimmy turned to Lenny and extended his hand. "Friends?" Jimmy asked.

"You betcha britches," Lenny drawled in a passing imitation of his grandpappy.

Jimmy smiled a lopsided grin, Spock raised an eyebrow, and Lenny laughed happily. The other children rushed into a group hug.

"The lift is operational now," one of the workers informed Mr. R. "There is time for one last tour of the caverns."

Eight pair of wide hopeful eyes pleaded silently with their director. Mr. R checked his chrono and nodded.

"Yay!" the children chorused.

And so it was that the eight children of the United Federation of Planets Daycare Center, led by their director, Mr. R, and assisted by his aide, Ms. Fontana, and linked together as one unit by their joined hands and their bonds of friendship, explored the caverns on a fieldtrip that was not such a disaster after all.

END


	10. The New Girl

**THE DAYCARE SERIES**

The New Girl

**by Ster Julie**

Rating: G

Codes: Ch, U, Ra (AU, daycare)

--ooOoo--

There was a new girl at the Starfleet Daycare Center.

Nyota didn't seem to mind. Although it had been nice to rule the roost with Chrissy, Nyota was very easy-going and liked everyone. It would be great to have another girl in their group.

Chrissy, on the other hand, circled 'round the new girl warily, sizing her up. This apple-cheeked girl was also blonde. What she lacked in height she made up for in hair. The new girl had a very elaborate hairstyle. It took Chrissy's mommy at least ten minutes every morning to tame her curls into more orderly ringlets. Chrissy wondered how long it took the new girl's mommy to braid her hair like that.

Chrissy watched the new girl interact with the boys as they arrived. She was coy with Lenny, Spockie and Monty, but Chrissy saw right through her act. Hikaru's jovial nature seemed to attract the new girl, but when Jimmy arrived, she swooped toward him like a hummingbird to nectar.

Chrissy breathed a sigh of relief. At least her Spockie would be safe from this new girl's clutches!

-

Mr. R called the group to the Gathering Mat and brought the new girl to the front.

"Boys and girls," he said in his soft voice, "this is Janny. She will be joining our group. Can everyone say hello to Janny?"

"Hello, Janny!" they chorused.

"H'lo," she replied shyly.

"Why come your hair's so big?" Hikaru blurted out. Chrissy couldn't help but giggle.

Janny was unfazed. "I have to wear my big crown today," she replied, as if that explained the obvious.

"Crown?" Nyota wondered aloud. "Are you a princess or something?"

Chrissy sat up. A _princess?_

"No," Janny replied. (Chrissy sighed in relief.) "I am a queen."

_"What!"_ Chrissy exploded.

Janny shot her a look. "I'm the reigning Little Miss Tiny Tot Buttercup Queen," she explained. "I have to make an appearance today at the opening of the new kiddies' gymnasium. I get to cut the ribbon with _real_ laser scissors."

Each of the boys reacted differently to Janny's announcement. Spockie listened politely. Monty had been bored into a stupor until she mentioned real laser scissors. Lenny snickered over her title, "Buttercup Queen." Jimmy's eyes lit up. He lived near where the gym had been under construction for several months and was anxious for the place to open.

Janny misinterpreted Jimmy's reaction and she directed her special smile toward him.

Lenny caught the look and rolled his eyes. "Oh, brother!" he commented.

Jimmy was confused. "Whassa matter, Lenny?"

Lenny made a goofy face at Jimmy. "She _likes_ you!" he teased. "She _loves_ you! She wants to _kiss _you!"

Jimmy's face fell. "Ick."

After the opening exercises and morning lessons were finished, the group went outside for recess. Chrissy was whispering something to Nyota when Janny sidled up to the girls.

"H'lo," she said. "I'm Janny."

"Hi, Janny," Nyota replied. "I'm Nyota, but you can call me Nyo."

Janny smiled then turned to Chrissy, who just looked down her nose at the smaller girl.

"Your hair is real pretty," Janny commented.

Chrissy smiled at the unexpected compliment.

"Thanks," she beamed, holding out her hand. "I'm Chrissy."

"Wanna play Power Princesses?" Janny asked. "I brought some of my old crowns."

"'Old crowns'!" Nyota echoed. "How many crowns do you have?"

Janny looked into the air and counted. "Twenty-six," she answered. She reached into her bag and withdrew three tiaras. The other girls oohed and aahed at the sight of the sparkly things. Janny placed the crystal band on their heads, crossed her wrists over her head and shouted, _"Power Princess!"_

Chrissy and Nyota imitated Janny's stance and echoed at the top of their lungs, _"Power Princess!" _Then the three girls ran stiff-armed straight for the boys.

Chrissy decided that the new girl was okay after all.

As long as she stayed clear of her Spockie!

END


	11. The USS Daycare

**THE DAYCARE SERIES**

The USS _Daycare_

**by Ster Julie**

Rating: G

Codes: Am, S, K, Mc, (AU, daycare)

--ooOoo--

"Mommy? Do I gots a blue sweater?"

"Spock, don't say 'gots,' say 'have. Do I _have_ a blue sweater?'"

"I dunno if _you_ gots . . ._have_ a blue sweater, Mommy. I want to know if _I_ have a blue sweater."

"Silly boy! No, you do not have a blue sweater."

"Oh. Do I have black trousers?"

"Why all this interest in clothing, Spock?"

"Do I gots black trousers, Mommy?"

"You _have_ black leggings. What's this all about, Spock?"

"Jimmy got a present from his daddy, a real Starfleet uniform in his size. He's gonna wear it for Hello-weenie an' he wants all of us to dress up like Starfleet guys, too."

"Oh."

"We worked real hard on making all the udder stuff we need. Jimmy and Monty and Hikaru made laser pistols out of clay. I made tri-corders out of snack boxes for me and Lenny, cuz science guys and doctors need tri-corders. The girls made badges for everybody out of gold foil and cardboard. We still need to make com-moo-ni-cators, but Mr. R said that he has some old phones we can use. And there's a lot of gold material stuff we can use for off'cer's stripes, an' . . . "

"Baby, come sit by Mommy."

"Can we go buy a blue sweater for me?"

"No, Baby."

"No?"

"I'm afraid not."

"But why not, Mommy?"

"Your Daddy doesn't approve of Starfleet."

"He doesn't?"

"No."

"But why?"

"He thinks that Starfleet uses too much violence to keep the peace."

"What's vi-lense, Mommy?"

"Violence is the use of force -- destroying and killing -- instead of discussion and negotiation."

"My daddy's the best at n'goshayshuns, huh, Mommy!"

"Yes, Spock, darling. He's the best. And he's also head of our house, and if he doesn't like Starfleet, then he wouldn't like you dressing as one of their officers."

"But I, but I, but I'm the science guy!"

"The very first Warp 5 vessel had a Vulcan science officer, and she was not Starfleet. You can still be a 'science guy' even without a blue sweater."

"But I want to fit in wif everyone."

"You can fit in, Baby. It doesn't matter what clothes you wear. You still know how to work together. When your father comes home, we can ask him what a Vulcan science guy would need when he goes exploring, okay?"

"Okay, I guess."

-

"Spockie! What are you wearing? Where's your blue sweater?"

"Hi, Jimmy. I don't gots a blue sweater, an' my mommy wouldn't go buy me one."

"Why not?"

"She says Daddy doesn't approve of Starfleet cuz they use a lot of vi'lense. She says the first warp 5 starship had a Vulcan science lady who wasn't Starfleet, so I can be a Vulcan science 'xplorer. Daddy helped me make my toolbelt and she picked out my clothes."

"Hey, Spockie!"

"Hi, Lenny!"

"Hey, I brought anudder blue sweater, in case you didn't have one. You wanna wear it?"

"I dunno, Lenny."

"Whatsa matter, Spockie?"

"His daddy don't want him to play Starfleet wif us."

"Why, Spockie?"

"'Cuz Starfleet has too much vi'lense, Lenny."

"But I like violins. Ow!"

"No, Lenny, you dope! His daddy says that there's too much hurting and blowing up stuff in Starfleet."

"There's too much hurting right here! You didn't have to punch me, Jimmy!"

"I sorry, Lenny."

"S'okay, Jimmy. Say, Spockie, if you wear this blue shirt wif those Vulcan pants, you can be half Starfleet and half Vulcan!"

"Hey! I'm _already_ half Vulcan! I'll just put the blue shirt on my Human half!"

"Uh, which half is _that_, Spockie? Ow!"

"Jimmy, you dope! It's the half wifout the pointed ears! Here, Spockie, Let me help you wif the sweater. Mr. R will help you wif the badge and the stripes."

"Oh, this is gonna be _great! _My daddy will love this picture! He will post it on his ship and maybe even in 'Starfleet and Stripes!' I'll go tell Mr. R that we are almost ready for our picture."

-

"S'Haile, forgive the intrusion. I thought you should see this."

Sarek looked at the padd his aide had handed him. His eyes narrowed at the sight of seven smiling human children and one somber Vulcan boy. The human children were pictured wearing pseudo-Starfleet uniforms. His own son was wearing Vulcan trousers and the tool belt on which Sarek had spent many hours in addition to that forbidden uniform top. Above them was the caption: THE BRAVE CREW OF THE USS _DAYCARE--_THE FUTURE OF STARFLEET?

Sarek was not amused.

END


	12. Doll Fight!

**THE DAYCARE SERIES**

**Doll Fight!**

**by Ster Julie**

Rating: G

Codes: Ch, U, Ra (AU, daycare)

A/N: The first show-and-tell after the Christmas break always looked like a toy store had overtaken daycare. Oh, and Baby Pavel had learned to crawl over the break as well. Those two events were a recipe for disaster.

--ooOoo--

Nyota, Janny, and Chrissy each arrived at the center at the same time with the same bags. They greeted each other excitedly and reached into their bags to pull out their Power Princess dolls.

Nyota pulled out Seraphina, the dark-haired princess whose brown-toned skin was perfectly set-off by the crimson gown she wore. Nyota turned her doll this way and that so the holographic threads in the fabric could shimmer under the lights.

Janny pulled out Celestina, the blonde princess with the shimmery blue gown.

"Hey!" Chrissy cried, also pulling out a Celestina doll. "You were supposed to ask Santa for the Princess Angelina doll!" Chrissy spat at Janny.

"My parents thought Celestina looked more like me!" Janny shot back.

"Does not!" Chrissy yelled. "You don't gots curly hair like me! Celestina looks like _me!"_

"How can we play Power Princess wifout Angelina?" Nyota asked, not that anyone was listening to her.

"Tell Santa to take her back!" Chrissy demanded.

"I can't!" Janny insisted. "I won't see him 'til next Christmas!"

"What seems to be the trouble?" Mr. R asked.

"Janny brought the wrong doll!" Chrissy said crossly.

"But this is the doll I got for Christmas!" Janny explained.

"She can't share it for show-and-tell," Chrissy demanded.

"Why not?" Janny cried.

"Because I'm sharing my doll first!" Chrissy retorted.

Mr. R gently took the dolls from the feuding girlss and put them on a shelf.

"I think perhaps we should not have show-and-tell until you are both calmed down," Mr. R explained.

Nyota began to cry as she handed her doll over to Mr. R.

"Nyota?" he asked. "Now, why are you crying?"

"We were gonna share them together," she wailed. "Now I don't wanna share!"

Mr. R shrugged and added Serafina to the pair of Celestinas.

-

The girls sat with their arms crossed and their eyes cast down as the boys shared their treasures.

Spock shared his new blue sweater. "My mother made this for me all by herself, and she used _two_ needles to make it. It's a pretty blue, just like her eyes."

Lenny held a frame up to his chest. "My granddad took me back to Georgia," he began excitedly, "an' when one of the mares started to foal, he let me help! I got to see the baby horse come out of it's mama and it was all yucky and _everything_. An' my granddad said that, since I helped him, an' since the colt was born on Christmas, that he would be my present! I got to give him a name and everything."

"What did you name him?" Jimmy asked.

Lenny looked at the picture proudly before turning the frame around to show everyone. "He didn't come down no chimbly, but I named him Santa anyway." Everyone giggled, then they oohed at the sight of Lenny hugging a spindly, wet, black colt with a triangular shaped spot on its forehead. Lenny pointed to the white patch and said, "That's his Chrissum tree."

Jimmy showed his latest starship model. It was not a toy but an authentic Starfleet model of the new chapter in starships. Monty shared his new erector set along with the motor he built himself. Hikaru brought in a planter box he had received from his _obaasan_ (grandmother). He had planted radishes on Christmas Day and there were already small green bits dotting the surface.

Then it was Baby Pavel's turn. Mr. R set the infant down on his belly in the midst of the children.

"What's the baby gonna share?" Hikaru asked.

"Watch," Mr. R instructed.

Pavel opened his wide eyes and looked at all the children. He rocked on his belly and flailed his arms.

"You can do it," Mr. R encouraged.

Pavel got up onto his hands and knees and rocked some more. Mr. R clapped his hands and held them out to the baby. Pavel cooed happily and began to move, slowly at first, then faster as he gained confidence. When he reached Mr. R, he pulled himself up to his knees by pulling on the teacher's trousers.

"Yay!" some of the children cried as they clapped.

Pavel for his part grinned.

Mr. R scooped the baby up and sat him on his knee. "Now, children," he warned, "because Pavel can crawl and pull himself up, we will have to be extra careful and watch out for him. Understood?" Everyone nodded in response.

Jimmy looked at the sullen girls. "Aren't they gonna share, Mr. R?" he asked.

Mr. R looked over at the girls. "Are you ready to share, girls?" he asked. Chrissy and Janny exchanged acidic stares. Nyota looked over at the other two, then sadly shook her head.

-

The rest of the day went on as usual. At lunchtime, Nyota dragged the two girls to the Time Out Bench (that also served as the Discussion Bench when one was not sent there as punishment). They came to an agreement and decided to ask Mr. R if they could share their dolls after recess. But when they came back inside, they made a startling discovery.

One of the Celestine dolls was missing!

-

Well, there was a great uproar over whose doll was missing, and whose doll was left on the shelf. Janny accused Chrissy of stealing her doll because Chrissy was mad that Janny brought the exact same thing for show-and-tell. Chrissy could prove that the doll on the shelf was hers because her mother always signed the back of Chrissy's doll with her name, the date she received it, and who gave it to her. Sure enough, it was Chrissy's doll on the shelf, but that didn't prove who took Janny's doll.

Mr. R was very good at making every day occurances into a lesson, so he put three desks and five chairs in the front of the room. Spock was the judge because he was a good listener and could be trusted to make a fair decision. Janny sat at one desk to the left of Spock and Chrissy sat at another to his right.

"Pick someone to help you, Janny," Mr. R ordered.

"I pick Jimmy," she said immediately.

"Chrissy, you pick now," Mr. R said.

Chrissy looked around. She wanted Spock, but he was the judge. Hik and Nyo were too little, she thought, and Monty didn't play with her so much. "I pick Lenny," she said at last.

The two boys went to sit with the two girls while the other three (Pavel was asleep) sat in three little chairs that Mr. R called the Juror's Box.

"Now what?" Lenny asked.

"Now you help Chrissy to prove that she didn't steal Janny's doll," Mr. R explained.

"How do I do that?" Lenny puzzled.

"You ask Jenny questions, then Jimmy gets a chance to ask her questions," Mr. R explained. "Then Jimmy asks Chrissy questions, then you to ask her some questions. Then the jury members talk to each other and say what they think happened--who stole the doll? Then Judge Spock listens to all the questions and to everybody's answers and then he makes a ruling."

"A ruler?" Jimmy asked.

"No," Mr. R said patiently. "He tells everybody what he thinks happened and says who has to be punished for taking the doll."

-

And so it began. The testimony from the girls agreed. They _both_ received the same doll for Christmas. They _both_ arrived at the school at the same time. They _both_ got in trouble for fighting about the dolls before classes began. Mr. R had to take _both_ dolls away from the girls and put them on the shelf, along with Nyota's doll. They _both_ did their lessons along with everyone else, ate their lunches at the same time, went to the Discussion Bench at the same time, and came back into the building at the same time. At no time was either of them out of sight from the other.

So if Chrissy didn't take the doll, who did?

"Judge Spock, what is your ruling?" Mr. R asked after all the questions were asked and answered and the jury had time to give their verdict.

Spock thought and thought. "Well," he began, "since we can prove that the doll is Chrissy's, and we know that the two girls were always together, logic tells us that Chrissy didn't do it. She did not take Janny's doll, so there is nothing to punish her for. But that does not solve the mystery. Who took Janny's doll?"

"What should we do next?" Mr. R asked the group.

"Did anaone look fer the doll?" Monty asked.

At that moment, a small voice was heard from the far corner of the room. All the children raced over to the chair to investigate.

There sat a very pleased Baby Pavel chewing on Princess Celestina's fingers

"Pow!" cried Baby Pavel as he raised his hands above his head. "Pow!"

"The baby took the doll!" the children cried out.

Mr. R reached out and scooped Pavel into his arms.

"Remember when I said we would all have to keep an eye on the baby now that he can crawl and pull himself up?" Mr. R asked. "Somehow he climbed into this chair and pulled the doll off the shelf."

"Why didn't we see him earlier?" Janny asked.

"Cuz you and Chrissy were too busy fighting over a dumb ol' doll," Lenny pointed out. "No one saw Pavel curled up in the chair asleep wif it."

"So, do we punish Pavel?" Chrissy asked.

"Does that seem right?" Mr. R asked.

"He's just a baby," Hikaru observed.

"He didnae know ana better," Monty added.

"So what do we do now?" Jimmy asked.

Mr. R turned towards the girls. "Maybe the girls are now ready to share their dolls," he suggested.

Chrissy, Nyota and Janny exchanged looks, grinned and grabbed their toys.

"This is Power Princess Celestina, Power Princess Seraphina, and another Power Princess Celestina," Chrissy began what sounded like a long soliloquy.

The older boys just flopped over and groaned.

END


	13. Show and Tell

**THE DAYCARE SERIES**

Show and Tell

**by Ster Julie**

Rating: G

Codes: Am, S, K, the Gang, Sa (AU, daycare)

--ooOoo--

It was Wednesday at Mr. R's Daycare Center. Wednesday was always Show and Tell Day, and today's theme was music. There was excitement in the air as the children arrived.

Except for one little Vulcan boy.

Amanda watched as Spock vainly tried to still his trembling lower lip. It broke her heart to see her little boy's disappointment.

"Babydoll," she crooned softly, rubbing his face, "I'm sorry that we couldn't rescue your harp from your father's office before that important call came. When he comes out, I'll go get your harp and bring it over, all right?"

Spock just stared at the carpet. Amanda sighed, planted a kiss atop Spock's bowed head, and went to explain the situation to Mr. R.

Jimmy came up to Spock, dragging a guitar behind him. Spock seemed rooted to the spot.

"Whassa matter, Spockie?" Jimmy asked as he looked at Spock's empty hands. "Where's you instrument?"

Spock's lower lip pouted even more. "My daddy's office was closed 'cause he had a 'portant call," Spock whispered. "I couldn't get my harp 'cause I'm not 'sposed to bother him when he's working."

Jimmy looked down at his battered guitar. He felt bad for his friend. Jimmy dragged his guitar over to the pile of musical instruments.

There was Nyota's African thumb piano called a kalimba, Monty's bagpipes, Hikaru's gong, Lennie's juice harp, and Chrissie's bell that she carried in a wedding. Even Baby Pavel had brought a colorful rattle.

Mr. R came over and placed a hand on Spock's shoulder.

"Your mother told me that she will bring your harp later, Spock," he said gently. "Why don't we join the others and begin our morning exercises?"

Spock nodded and moved with him to the group circle.

"Where's your instrument, Spock?" Monty asked.

"Music prolly hurts his ears," Lennie observed. Spock shot him a dark look.

"Does not!" he shouted before sprinting over to the window to watch for his mother.

Mr. R kept one eye on the lone figure at the window as he recorded the attendance and went through the daily opening ritual. He asked the children the date, what day yesterday was and what day tomorrow would be. He looked at the sad little boy at the windows.

"You didn't ask us what today is, Mr. R!" Lennie cried out. "It's Wednesday!"

"Show and Tell Day!" the others exclaimed. Even Baby Pavel answered with an enthusiastic "GAH-hah!"

"I wanna go first!" chorused five of the children.

Jimmy looked back at his friend.

"I wanna wait until Spockie's mommy comes back!" Jimmy stated emphatically. His voice of authority silenced the rest of the children. Seven pairs of eyes turned to Mr. R. He in turn moved to the window.

"Spock?" he asked quietly. "Do you mind if the others share their instruments now? You could share yours when your mother returns."

"S'okay," Spock replied in a tiny voice. "Can I stay here?"

Mr. R steered the boy back to the group, shaking his head.

"It wouldn't be polite to the rest of the group," he said gently yet firmly.

Spock sat crossed-legged on the rug near Jimmy, who promptly put an arm around the boy's slumped shoulders.

"She'll be here, Spockie," Jimmy said as he squeezed his friend's shoulders encouragingly. "You'll see. Everything will be all right."

Baby Pavel went first. Mr. R read the note attached to the boy's Russian rattle. It was wooden, painted a deep red, and marked with intricate carvings.

"This has been in Pavel's family for seven generations," he announced.

"What does that mean?" Hikaru asked.

"It means that it's old," Lennie answered.

"Mugah!" Pavel exclaimed gleefully as he shook the rattle with all his baby might.

Lennie got up and, without preamble, placed the juice harp between his teeth and plucked. The children giggled at the _"nee-yow, nee-yow"_ sound it made.

A tinny _"bong"_ sounded from Hikaru's gong. Spock covered his ears at the sound.

Chrissie stood up next. "I was in my auntie's wedding and I got to ring this bell," as she _ring-a-linged_ the blue streamered silver bell. "I want lots of bells at my wedding." Spock's head picked up at that.

"Did your auntie marry a Vulcan?" he asked.

Chrissie blushed. "No," she said shyly.

Mr. R stirred at Spock's question.

"Why do you ask, Spock?"

"'Cause at a Vulcan wedding, the bride rings a lot of bells, and the groom hits a gong."

Lennie looked at Hikaru's gong and Chrissie's bell.

"Well, we could have a wedding right now," he observed. "You could use Hikaru's gong and you and Chrissie can get married!"

The children giggled, Chrissie beamed at the idea, and Spock crossed his arms and hunkered down even further into a tight, pouty ball.

A squalling caterwaul began as Monty filled the bellows on his bagpipes. All of the children covered their ears this time. Monty's face turned red in exertion as he forced out the few notes of "Scotland the Brave." Mr. R turned to Jimmy.

"Your turn, Jimmy," he coaxed.

Jimmy looked at his friend. "Spockie?" he began.

"S'okay, Jimmy," Spock answered.

Jimmy got up and dragged the battered guitar to the front. "This is my brother's guitar," he started. "When Sam went off to Starfleet Academy, he said that I could have it." Jimmy put the battered wooden guitar over a knee and gave it a strum. The loose strings wobbled but did not make any other sound but a pathetic _"twang."_

Spock took the instrument carefully from Jimmy and examined it. He recognized the principle behind the device as being similar to his harp. He started fiddling with the tuning pegs, looking up only as Nyota _"plink-plank-plunked"_ on the African thumb piano. He hoped to examine that next.

Mr. R saw that Spock was engrossed in tuning Jimmy's guitar, so he did not call the boy to the art corner with everyone else. As the children played with the fingerpaints, Spock continued to tighten the strings just so.

"You're holding it wrong."

Spock looked up to see a paint-splattered Jimmy standing over him.

"I cannot hold it as you did, Jimmy," he replied. Mr. R came over to see if everything was all right with the boys.

"This is a standard size guitar, boys," he said in his trademark quiet voice. "It is too big for either of you." Mr. R took the guitar, placed it flat on the table and plucked the strings with his right hand while pressing down on the neck with his left. "Why, Spock!" he exclaimed in amazement, "you tuned this just right! Do you play the guitar?"

Spock blushed green at the praise and shook his head.

"I play the harp," he answered. He looked at the way Mr. R was plinking out a tune. "May I try?"

Mr. R gave Spock his seat and the boy went to work studying the strings and how applying pressure above the frets changed the sound of each string.

Slowly, as Spock continued to pick out notes, the children gravitated over to him.

"Oooh!" Chrissy exclaimed.

Nyota began snapping her fingers and swaying her hips.

Hikaru grabbed his gong and banged it on every fourth note.

Lenny grabbed his juice harp and _"nee-yowed"_ it willy-nilly.

"Ew! Lennie! You're getting spit on us!" Monty cried.

"Well, it's not called a juice harp for nothing!" Lenny replied.

Baby Pavel slapped the top of his high chair, splattering himself with red paint.

"Mugaah!" he cooed.

Mr. R clapped his hands. "Well done, children!" he praised. He took the instruments and put them in a safe corner. "Let's get cleaned up. It is time for lunch."

While the children ate, Mr. R received a call. He spoke for several minutes before he came back into the room.

"Let's clean up and get ready for nap time," he ordered.

Each child knew what task to perform. Spock passed the waste can around and picked up the trash. Jimmy and Lennie wet towels and wiped off the tables. Monty wiped Pavel's tray as Mr. R took the baby to the changing table. Hikaru and the girls pulled out seven nap mats and placed a soft blankie on each, plus one in Baby Pavel's crib. Everyone used the washroom, cleaned up and returned to the nap room.

Jimmy selected a special book with a wink at Spock and gave it to Mr. R, who pulled up a chair and everyone got comfortable. He began to read from "Alexander and the Horrible, Terrible, No-Good, Very Bad Day:"

"I went to sleep with gum in my mouth, and now there is gum in my hair …" 

Spock woke up to nudging in his back, again!

"Jimmy!" he began. He stopped short at the feel of a large, wet, warm tongue lapping at his face. "Ee-Chaya?" he asked, puzzled. Spock was confused. Did he awaken at the embassy?

Spock looked around. None of the other mats were occupied. Spock heard giggling, and looking up, he found the other children crowding into Mr. R's office, watching him.

Ee-Chaya was gently pulled away from Spock, revealing Sarek and Amanda. This was only the second time Sarek had come to the daycare center, and this time he had brought both Spock's pet sehlat and his harp.

"Your mother informed me of the importance of 'show-and-tell,'" Sarek explained, "so we have brought some things for you to share." Spock's eyes widened at the sight of his harp and formal robes. He could also smell the homemade treats his mother had brought.

"All this and Ee-Chaya, too?" he marveled. Amanda smiled a bittersweet smile.

"Let me help you change while your father introduces Ee-Chaya to your class," she explained, shaking the wrinkles out of his clothing.

Amanda helped Spock into the billowing pleated trousers, tunic, sash, and gauzy over vest. Smoothing his sleep-rumpled hair, Amanda placed a band around his head, jewels around his neck and bands on his wrists. She finished his formal wear with split-toed socks and sandals. When finished, Amanda led her son over to the main room where she seated Spock on a low stool and fussed over his garments.

Meanwhile, Sarek led Ee-Chaya outside to meet the children. The girls clung to each other in fright and wouldn't go near the large creature.

Hikaru asked, "Is it going to eat us?" as he timidly tried to pet the beast.

Monty walked right up to the sehlat and scratched it warmly behind each ear.

"Och, ye look like some of the scraggly cattle we ha'e at home," he crooned. Ee-Chaya lifted his massive head so Monty could scratch him under his chin as well.

Lennie put his fists on his hips, stared Ee-Chaya in the eye and growled. The sehlat growled right back, which made Lennie run and hide behind Jimmy.

"Is he big enough to ride on?" Jimmy asked.

"Would you like to see?" Sarek asked as he picked Jimmy up and plunked him down on Ee-Chaya's back.

Sarek then led Ee-Chaya, with Jimmy still astride, back into the main room. The rest of the children followed obediently behind.

Jimmy dismounted from the sehlat's back and stopped in his tracks.

"Spockie!" he breathed.

Never before had the children ever seen Spock look so, well, alien.

Chrissy oohed at the sight of the Vulcan princeling. "Pretty!"

"Nice hat!" Lennie teased. Jimmy pushed Lennie.

"Be nice, Lennie!" Jimmy warned.

Nyota and Hikaru sat close to where Spock sat so that they could see the best. Monty tried to count the pleats in Spock's wide pants.

"He got more pleats than m' kilt!" Monty exclaimed.

Mr. R carried Pavel to the group and sat him in his lap.

Spock stood and bowed.

"Thank you for coming to my recital," he announced. "Today you will hear selections by T'Cara, Sendelin, Brahams, and variations on some nursery rhymes." It was the same speech he had given at his last recital on Vulcan. As he reseated himself, a look of concentration came over Spock's face as he settled the harp in his lap and on his shoulder.

Spock's fingers flew and danced over the strings. Amanda smiled through proud tears as her son's tongue appeared between his lips at a particularly difficult passage. At his earlier recital, Spock had faltered on the tempo, but, as Sarek noted with satisfaction, Spock kept a steady beat.

Nyota and Hikaru led the children in a chorus of "Yays!" and clapping after each piece. Spock raised an eyebrow at his father as if to ask, "What do I do now?" Sarek inclined his head, which Spock mimicked before his friends.

Spock did an encore of the nursery rhymes at the end of the recital. He ended with what happened to be Jimmy's favorite song. When Jimmy heard it, he jumped up and started singing at the top of his lungs:

"Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream.

Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dream."

The other children joined in, even Baby Pavel as he yelled, "Yayaya!"

Spock laid aside his harp, stood and bowed profoundly.

"Yay! Hooray!" the children chorused.

"You did real good, Spockie," Jimmy said. Spock inclined his head in gratitude.

"Thank you, Jimmy," replied. Jimmy leaned over and whispered in his hear.

"See? I _told_ you everything would be all right!"

Mr. R loomed over the boys.

"Spock, since your parents are here, you may go home early," he said in his quiet voice.

"Yes sir," Spock replied, "but first I will help Mother pass out the treats."

As the children munched on the cookies Amanda had made in the shape of a Vulcan harp, Spock moved to rescue his instrument from Nyota's curious, and sticky, fingers.

"You sure look pretty," Chrissy swooned.

Spock looked back at her and raised a disdainful eyebrow in response.

"Girls are like that, Baby," Amanda whispered as she took the instrument from her son. She led him over to where Sarek stood with Ee-Chaya.

"You performed well, my son," he stated.

"I am honored, Father," Spock replied.

Sarek signaled the sehlat to crouch, which allowed Spock to climb aboard the pet. The trio moved out to the yard, the light of the setting sun sparkling off the jewels Spock still wore.

"Bye, Spockie!" Jimmy called from the doorway. Spock turned on his perch atop I-Chaya.

"Bye, Jimmy!" he called. At a "tsk" from Sarek, Spock amended his farewell.

_"Mene sekket ur sevah,_ James!"

"Huh?" Jimmy called.

"LIVE LONG AND PROSPER!" Spock shouted back.

Chrissie was also in the doorway, softly ringing her silver bell.

"So pretty!" she breathed.

---

The next day—Going Home

Jimmy was hanging up his coat when he caught sight of Spock coming up to the doors of the daycare center astride the shaggy back of his pet.

"Spockie!" Jimmy cried. "It's not show and tell day. Why did you bring your bear?"

Spock scratched behind Ee-Chaya's ear as a sad look came over his face.

"We came to say goodbye, Jimmy."

Jimmy was puzzled. "Goodbye?" he repeated. "You just got here!"

Spock shook his head. "No, Jimmy," he murmured. "We are going home, to Vulcan."

Jimmy's eyes grew wide and watery. "Vulcan!" he breathed. "But that's so far away. I'll never see you again."

Spock cocked his head to one side. "My mommy says, "Never say never.' My daddy says, 'There are always possibilities.'"

Jimmy began to cry.

Spock leapt down and clasped Jimmy's hands. "Don't cry, Jimmy," Spock said. "You'll always be my bestest friend in all the galaxy!"

"But why do you have to leave?" Jimmy sobbed.

Spock's eyes glowed in wonder. "I gots a new brother," he said in amazement.

Jimmy wiped his nose on his sleeve. "Huh? Did your mommy have a baby or sumthin'?" he asked between sniffles.

Spock shook his head. "Nah. He's my big brother," Spock replied.

Jimmy furrowed his brow. "I don't get it," he said.

Spock shrugged. "Neither do I," he replied. "All I know is that he is older than me. His mommy just died, and we gots to go take care of him."

Jimmy's eyes widened. "His mommy _died?"_ he breathed. "Your brother must be very sad."

Spock shrugged again. "I dunno," he answered.

Jimmy put his hands on Spock's shoulders. "Are you excited about going home?" Jimmy asked.

Spock looked around at the other children. "Yeah, I'm excited," he replied, "but I'm gonna miss everybody here."

Jimmy's eyes filled. "Even me?" he asked.

Spock's eyes watered as well. "'Specially you," he replied, pulling Jimmy into a fierce embrace. "Bye, Jimmy," he sobbed. "You'll always be my bestest friend."

Jimmy pulled back. "In all the galaxy?" Jimmy asked, smiling through his tears.

Spock smiled back. "In all the universe Jimmy."

Jimmy gasped. "My daddy says that the universe is even bigger than the galaxy!" he cried.

Spock wiped his friend's face. "Mine, too." Spock released Jimmy and straightened his clothes. "If you can, come to Vulcan and see where I live."

Jimmy nodded. "Okay!" he responded. "And when you come back to Earth, you can come see our farm."

Spock's eyes lit up. He had never been on a real farm before. "Okay!" he cried.

Ee-Chaya came over and licked Spock's face dry.

"Time to go, Baby," Amanda whispered.

Spock nodded. "Yes, ma'am," he replied. Spock turned back to Jimmy and pulled himself up to his full height. "I gots to go now, Jimmy." He raised his hand in the _ta'al._ "Live long and prosper."

"Bye, Spockie," Jimmy replied.

Spock hauled himself atop Ee-Chaya's furry hide and rode off with his mother.

"Bestest friends," Jimmy whispered as he watched his friend leave. "Best friends in the whole universe."

END


	14. A Time of Change

**THE DAYCARE SERIES**

A Time of Change

**by Ster Julie**

Rating: G

Codes: K, S, the Gang (AU, daycare)

Summary: Jimmy is about to move to Tarsus IV to look for his MIA father when Spockie returns to the daycare center for a visit, bringing his brother Sybok for show and tell.

A/N: My aunt's death on Friday inspired me to finish my latest trip into the daycare center.

Per Zia Giuseppina

--ooOoo--

Jimmy was so engrossed with the shuttlecraft blueprints he had found that he didn't feel the gentle tap on his shoulder, or the gentle calling of his name.

"Jimmy!"

Jimmy turned around to see who had intruded in his studies.

"Spockie!" he breathed.

It had been three years since young Spock had left Earth and the daycare center to meet his new big brother. Although Jimmy and the other children were friendly, none of the others could compare to his first real friend.

"It is agreeable to see you again, my friend," Spock replied. Jimmy looked his friend over, then flung himself into Spock's arms.

But Spock did not hold Jimmy. Spock stood stiffly with his arms at his sides, his fists clenched.

Jimmy pulled back and looked more closely at Spock. They both had grown, but Spock had a completely different air about him.

"You're different," Jimmy observed.

"Much has happened, Jimmy," Spock replied.

"Like what?" Jimmy asked.

Spock looked down so he could compose his features better.

"I have a big brother now," he responded, looking back up.

Jimmy smiled slightly, knowing how he adored his own brother Sam.

"What's his name? What's he like?" Jimmy asked.

Spock's eyes lit up. "His name is Sybok" Spock began. "He's really nice and he shows me the most amazing things. He helped me get over the nightmares I used to have."

Jimmy was smiling during Spock's little speech until his friend started talking about nightmares.

Jimmy was having terrible nightmares.

Jimmy's daddy was missing and feared dead.

Jimmy's mommy was moving the family to Tarsus IV to be closer to the search for George Kirk.

Jimmy's eyes filled with tears.

Change was hard.

Change was painful.

Jimmy blinked and found Spock holding him gently.

"Jimmy?" he asked. "What's wrong? Why are you crying?"

"My daddy's missing!" Jimmy wailed. "Nobody can find him! And now they are saying that he's dead!"

"Dead?" Spock breathed.

Jimmy took a few hiccupping breaths and dragged his sleeve across his eyes.

"Momma doesn't believe it," he said in a whisper, "so she's moving all of us to Tarsus IV."

"Why Tarsus IV?" Spock puzzled.

"'Cause that's the last place anyone saw my daddy," Jimmy explained. "She wants us all to be closer to the search in case they do find him."

"Jimmy…"

Spock did not get to finish his thought. He was interrupted by a screech at the door.

"Spockie!" Chrissy shrieked happily. The golden curled little girl ran toward the boys and flung her arms around Spock's neck as she tried to kiss him. "You came back to me, you came back!"

"You may not touch me in that manner," Spock insisted. "I am promised to another."

Chrissy made a face.

"What are you, engaged or something?" she taunted.

"No," Spock replied. "I am married."

Chrissy was speechless, but only for a moment.

"Married!" she exclaimed. "You're too little to be married!"

Spock straightened himself to his full height.

"I passed the _kahs-wan,"_ he explained, "so I am an adult now. And I was _so_ married."

Chrissy crossed her arms and pouted.

"What's her name?" she teased.

"T'Pring," Spock answered simply. Chrissy's face fell. If the girl was as pretty as her named sounded…

"Is she pretty?" Chrissy asked.

Spock shrugged.

"I suppose," he answered.

"Well, I HATE her!" Chrissy shouted as she stomped her foot. She turned and ran away.

Spock looked at a puzzled Jimmy and shrugged.

"What's a _'kahs-wan'_" Jimmy asked, "and why are you an adult now?"

"The _kahs-wan_ is a maturity test," Spock began. "I had to travel through the desert by myself for seven days without any food or water."

"No food or water for seven days?" Jimmy exclaimed. "Sounds scary."

"It was," Spock admitted softly, a sad look darkening his face.

immy moved closer and put his arm around Spock's shoulders.

"What happened?" he asked gently.

Spock took a deep breath.

"I was worried that I wouldn't pass the _kahs-wan,"_ he began, "so I went out one night without telling anyone. I had to prove to myself that I could pass the test. I went to the mountains, and Ee-Chaya followed me."

"Your bear?" Jimmy interrupted.

"Uh-huh," Spock replied. "I tried to send him back, but he wouldn't go, so I let him follow me." Spock's breathing became ragged as he relived the memory. "Later on, I was attacked by a _lematya_, and Ee-Chaya saved me." Spock's eyes began to fill with tears. "Ee-Chaya died saving me," Spock said, desperately trying to control his features. His hand sneaked back into his pocket to rub the piece of fur he carried.

"I'm sorry about your bear," Jimmy said.

Spock was about to answer, "Me, too," when all of a sudden, powerful arms picked him up from behind and lifted him off the ground into a handstand high in the air. Spock couldn't help but giggle.

"Sybok!"

"Hey, little one!" Sybok responded as he continued to hold Spock above his head. "I have signed you in for the week." Sybok spared a quick glance at the boy at his feet. "Who's your friend?" he asked his brother.

'That's my friend Jimmy," Spock answered as he tried to balance on one arm, his leg acting as counterbalance.

"Hello, friend Jimmy," Sybok responded.

"Hi, Sybok," Jimmy giggled. He watched the two brothers continue their balancing act.

"You're brother is a lot older than you, Spockie," Jimmy observed.

"He is two cycles older," Spock replied.

"Two cycles?" Jimmy asked.

"Fourteen years," Sybok explained. The older Vulcan youth brought his brother to his feet and ruffled his hair. Spock playfully pushed his brother's hands away and smoothed his hair back into place.

"So, when does this show and tell time start?"

Spock looked at his little friend, noticing the remnants of tears in Jimmy's eyes and his red nose. Spock looked at his brother and thought a moment, finally coming to a decision.

"Can you help Jimmy, Sybok?" he asked.

Jimmy looked at the two Vulcans with a puzzled look on his face. "Jimmy is so sad because his father is missing and feared dead," Spock explained, "and now he has to move to Tarsus IV."

"Help me how?" Jimmy asked suspiciously, edging away from the others.

"Sybok can help people not feel so bad," Spock explained. "Remember when I had that nightmare and screamed and screamed and frightened everybody?"

Jimmy nodded.

"Yeah, that was scary," the boy replied.

Spock stepped closer to Jimmy, a pleading look in his eye.

"Let Sybok take away your pain," he entreated.

Jimmy stepped further away.

"My pain is all I have left of my daddy," he murmured, miserable.

Sybok knelt where he was, putting himself at eye level with Jimmy, staring intently into the boy's eyes.

"Oh, little one," Sybok breathed, "your pain is so great."

Jimmy felt like running away, but he was frozen in place.

"What's your brother doing to me?" Jimmy whispered fearfully.

Spock put a small hand toward his friend.

"Don't be afraid, Jimmy," he soothed. "Sybok is only helping you."

"Don't take the pain away," Jimmy moaned. "Don't take my daddy away."

Sybok began to sway in sorrow, his eyes misted over.

"I grieve with thee, Jimmy," Sybok said softly. "You won't find your daddy."

Jimmy began to breathe heavily, then flew into a rage. He ran at Sybok, nearly bowling the older Vulcan backwards, his little fists flailing.

"My daddy's not dead!" he screamed, striking at Sybok. "He's not dead, he's NOT!"

Sybok just held onto Jimmy tightly.

"You're right, Jimmy," Sybok consoled, "you're right."

Jimmy pulled his head back to look at Sybok.

"Then why does everybody say he is?" Jimmy sniffed.

Sybok wiped Jimmy's cheeks.

"He's not with us as flesh and blood, Jimmy," Sybok explained, "but he's here." Sybok tapped Jimmy's chest. "He'll always be here."

"You mean he's in my heart?" Jimmy said simply.

Sybok smiled gently and nodded.

"But I want him where I can see him," Jimmy whispered.

"Your father is in your heart," Sybok repeated, "he's in your memory, and he's in your actions whenever you do what he taught you." Sybok looked gently at the child. "I'll bet that your father was a brave man."

Jimmy nodded enthusiastically.

"Uh-huh!" he replied. "He's real brave. He was the bravest so they made him the security officer on his ship." Jimmy gave Sybok a puzzled look. "How did you know?"

Sybok caressed Jimmy's cheek.

"Because you are just as brave," Sybok explained. "See? Your father IS living in you!"

Jimmy looked down at his own chest, half expecting to see George Samuel Kirk, Sr. there. Jimmy looked back at Sybok. His shoulders were straighter and he stood a little taller.

"What should I tell my mommy?" he whispered.

Sybok took Jimmy by the shoulders.

"Don't tell her anything," he said gently. "She will find out in time. Just go to Tarsus IV as she has planned and help her as much as you can." A shadow crossed Sybok's face. "Just be careful on Tarsus, alright?"

Jimmy was puzzled.

"Why?" he asked.

Sybok shuddered as though he were caught in a sudden icy wind.

"I do not know," he replied at last. Just be careful."

The sound of a bell broke into their conversation. Jimmy took Spock and Sybok's hands and pulled them to the classroom.

"C'mon," he said as he moved the Vulcans into the building. "It's time for Show and Tell."

Spock looked over to the little boy ringing the bell.

"Who's that, Jimmy?" he asked.

Jimmy looked up and smiled.

"That's Pavel," Jimmy explained. "He was just a baby when you left."

"I see he still likes to ring bells," Spock observed as the bell ringing continued.

"Yeah," Jimmy said. "SOME things never change."

END


	15. Green Weenies

T itle: Green Weenies--A Daycare Story

Author: Ster J

Genre: TOS; AU (Daycare)

Rating: PG

Part 1/1

Summary: An innocent question causes mayhem

--ooOoo--

It was a warm summer day and the Federation-funded daycare was having a picnic. The girls were playing with Baby Pavel on a blanket under a shady tree, but the rest of the boys, including the new kid, Kevie Riley, were more interested in the barbecue Mr. R was setting up.

Lenny rubbed his tummy and licked his lips.

"There's nuthin' like a fire-roasted weenie outdoors!" he declared.

"What's a weenie?" Spockie asked.

Five little heads snapped toward Spock.

"You never had a weenie?" Jimmy asked.

"No," Spock asked. "What is it? What's it look like?"

"A weenie's a kinda sausage…" Monty began before Lenny silenced him with an elbow and a wicked look.

"A weenie looks like what's in your pants, Spockie," Lenny said with a remarkably straight face.

"What's in my pants?" Spock echoed in confusion.

"Yeah," Lenny continued. "It's long and straight and pink. It's the part that girls don't have. In fact, when a mommy and a daddy want a little girl, they cut off her weenie and sell it to the store."

Hikaru and his new friend Kevie Riley were horrified. "No!" they screamed, running off, clutching the front of their shorts.

"Ach, see wha' ye did now!" Monty muttered disgustedly as he ran off after little Hikaru and Kevie.

Jimmy gave Lenny a shove. "You're mean, Lenny!" Jimmy turned back to his friend. "That's not true, Spockie," he said. "A weenie is a kind of sausage, like Monty said. I saw them made at a factory. They grind up all the leftover meat and add some stuff and mix it up. Then they shaped it into lots and lots of weenies.

"Oh," Spock said, holding his stomach. "Then it is a meat product."

"Uh-huh," Jimmy confirmed. It's made up of pig meat and cow meat. They don't put any little girl parts into the weenie. That would be ucky."

"Ucky, indeed," Spock agreed.

Jimmy led the group closer to the barbeque area. "You know, Spockie," he continued, "they can make weenies out of just about anything. Why don't you ask Mr. R if he has a weenie you can eat?"

Spock thought about it for a while. Perhaps Mr. R would have a suitable substitute for him after all."

The boys drew closer to the cooking area. After observing the daycare leader for a while, Spock piped up and asked his question.

"Mr. R, do you have a green weenie?"

The boys burst into gales of laughter. Spock didn't know what he had done wrong, but when he saw Mr. R's face change to a deeper shade of pink, he knew he had dishonored his elder. Not knowing what else to do, Spock ran.

By the time Mr. R recovered enough to remember the special command word to stop Spock in his tracks, the boy was halfway back to the transport.

_"Kroykah!"_ the adult yelled.

Just as he was trained, Spock stopped running, chest heaving and mind roiling. What had he done?

Mr. R parked all the boys under the tree with the girls. Miss Dorothy had to keep one eye on some sullen boys, plus the girls and the baby, and another eye on the fire as Mr. R went out to collect Spock.

"Spock?" the adult called. "It's alright. The boys just thought you had made a joke, a naughty joke."

Spock was aghast. "I would _never_ do that!" he cried. "I would never disrespect an elder!"

"They were just being silly," Mr. R continued. "I know you would never disrespect me. Now, who started all this nonsense?"

Spock ran a hand across his eyes. He wasn't crying yet, but he knew the tears were close to the surface.

"I asked the boys what a weenie is, and Lenny said they were girl pedises!"

Mr. R had to bite back a smile. That Lenny may be the son and the grandson of doctors, but he was too young to know so much about anatomy already!

"Now, Spock," Mr. R continued with a calming voice, "you know that girls don't have penises, and you know that I would never feed you a meat product. I brought vegan wieners."

"I've been to Vega," Spock announced.

Mr. R smiled again. "No, these were made locally, but they are called vegan because they have no meat products. In a way, you were correct in asking me if I had green wieners. They are made of vegetable proteins, so in a way, they _are _green. We can all eat the same thing."

Spock snuffled back the tears he refused to let show. "That's good."

Mr. R placed his hand on Spock's shoulder and led him back to the group. He crooked a finger sternly at Lenny.

Lenny stomped his way grumpily to where the tall director stood.

"I'm gonna get another whippin'!" he moaned.

"You would get in less trouble, Lenny, if you first thought about what you were going to say," Mr. R admonished. "I noticed that you scared Hikaru and Kevin with your stories, and you made Spock think he had shown disrespect to an elder. Do you know how bad that is to a Vulcan child?"

Lenny looked up with a watery, fearful gaze. "Are you gonna put me in time out?"

Mr. R thought a while before answering, letting Lenny stew. "No," he said after a while. "First, you will apologize to Spock and then to Hikaru and Kevin. Then you will go with Miss Dorothy and look up on the computer how wieners are made and report back to the class. You will give up some of your recess to do this. Am I understood?"

Lenny bowed his head. "Yessir," he mumbled.

"Good." Mr. R said, taking Lenny's hand and leading him back to the group. "Now, go and talk to the boys like I told you while I cook our lunch."

As Mr. R watch Lenny scamper off to the group, his own inner child poked his head out to whisper playfully, "Yes! Then we can _all_ have green weenies!"

END


	16. Big Fat Poopy Head!

Title: Big Fat Poopy Head!

Author: Ster Julie

Codes: TOS; Daycare Center

Rating: PG

Part 1 of 1

Summary: Uh-oh … The children learned a new idiom at Daycare!

A/N: When I taught 2nd grade, there was one name that the children would call each other just to make someone cry: _Alien!_ I banished it from my room and called it "the other A-word." My parents couldn't understand why their little darlings would get a "time-out" for using such an innocent word. I told them, "Any word that makes another child cry is a bad word in my book." You could say that this story is based on a modicum of fact.

-ooOoo-

No one remembered who started it and no amount of correction, threats or punishment deterred the children from labeling each other, whether in anger or in jest, a "Big fat poopy-head!"

"Get out of my seat, you big fat poopy-head!"

"It's my turn, you big fat poopy-head!"

"Give it back, you big fat poopy-head!"

"Quit pushin' me, you big fat poopy-head!"

Mr. R firmly closed the large storybook he was trying to read to the class. This had to stop!

"Children, what is our number one rule?" he asked.

"I should treat others the way I would like to be treated," they all recited.

"I would not like to be called a 'Big fat poopy-head,'" Mr. R continued. The children giggled at the sound of an adult using that term. "I would not like to be called that, so I will not call anyone else a 'Big fat poopy head, nor will I tolerate anyone calling someone a 'Big fat poopy head.'" The children stuffed their hands against their lips to stifle another giggle.

Mr. R turned to Lenny McCoy.

"Lenny."

"Yes, sir," the boy responded.

"Lenny, do _you_ like to be called a 'Big fat poopy-head'?"

"No, sir, I don't!" he said.

"But I hear you say it a lot," Mr. R observed.

Lenny hung his head. He peered around to see who was looking at him, staring daggers in return.

"Monty," Mr. R called next.

"Sair!"

"How about you? Do _you_ like to be called a 'Big fat poopy-head'?"

"No, sair!" Monty replied. "Ah don't like it at all!"

"Jimmy?"

"I don't like it neither, Mr. R," Jimmy answered without being asked.

Little Spock politely raised his hand. "Mr. R?" he asked. What _is_ a 'Big fat poopy-head'?"

All the kids groaned.

"It's when somebody acts mean or doesn't take turns or doesn't share," Jimmy explained to his friend.

"It's when somebody can't clean up her own mess 'cuz she's gotta fix her sparkly make-up," Chrissy sing-songed at Janny.

"It's when somebody turns off the lights when you're in the baff-room, even though he knows you're a-scared of the dark," Kenny hissed at Hikaru.

"It's when somebody throws rocks in the mud puddle and gets your new dress all dirty," Nyo said as she bugged angry eyes at Monty.

"It's when someone steals your friend," Lenny muttered, his arms crossed and head bowed.

"It sounds like we have all had our share of hurt feelings," Mr. R observed. "What name should we give this kind of behavior—besides 'Big fat poopy-head,' of course.

"They were just being mean," Jimmy tried.

"I don't think 'mean' is the best word," Mr. R continued with the impromptu lesson. "Monty, did you want to get Nyo's dress all muddy?"

"Och, nae," Monty responded. "I just wanted to try an' skip the rocks across the pond like me Da' showed me."

"And Hikaru, did you know that Kevvie was in the bathroom when you turned the lights out?"

"Nooo," Hikaru moaned. "I didn't see him in the baff-room." Hikaru put his little arm around Kevvie's shoulders. "I sorry, Kevvie. You're my best friend. I didn't mean to scare you."

Kevvie smiled and replied, "'S alright,'Karu."

Mr. R turned to their resident beauty queen. "Janny?"

"I'm sorry I left a mess, Mr. R," the girl explained, "but my mommy came early to take me to an appearance. I had to get ready in a hurry."

"So can one word be used that would best describe these kinds of behaviors?"

"Whaddya mean, Mr. R?" Jimmy asked.

"Let's try something else. What's inside your head?" Mr. R asked.

"Brains!" Lenny shouted, remembering the cutaway illustrations in his grandpappy's antique anatomy books.

"And what do you do with your brain?"

"You can't live without your brain," Spock observed. "It makes your heart beat and your lungs breathe. It controls all parts of your body."

"And what else should you do with your brain?"

"Learn stuff?" Chrissy asked.

"Good, Chrissy. What else, children?" Mr. R looked around at their blank little faces. "Think now. What else do you do with your brain?"

As if on cue, the children all yelled, "THINK!"

"Exactly," Mr. R praised. "So, to finally answer Spock's question, what _is_ a 'Big fat poopy-head'?"

"Sumbuudy who don't think," Kevvie answered.

"Very good, Kevvie," Mr. R responded. "You could say that leaving a mess behind for someone else to clean, or throwing rocks into a mud puddle, or taking more than your fair share are all examples of thoughtless behavior."

"What about turning off the lights on Kevvie?" Lenny asked.

"That was an honest mistake," Mr. R countered. "What could be a more thoughtful act next time?"

"I could yell, 'I'm turning off the lights,'" Hikaru suggested.

"Well," Mr. R replied, not relishing the thought of yelling in the restroom, "how about asking, 'Is anyone in here?' instead?" Hikaru thought a moment, then nodded.

"'Kay."

"Well, children," Mr. R said as he checked his chrono, "it is time to put this lesson into action. Let's have a fifteen minute recess and practice being more thoughtful. That means, go and share the equipment. Help each other out. Be kind."

"But can we have fun?" Lenny asked.

Mr. R chuckled, "Of course. Just act like you have brains in your head."

"An' not ye-know-what," Monty commented in a stage whisper.

"Poop!" Baby Pavel said, making all the children giggle again.

As Mr. R looked outside, he saw a dozen seagulls circling the playground, looking for scraps of food that the children dropped at lunch recess.

"Watch out for the birds," he warned, just before one swooped overhead and relieved itself right on Mr. R, much to the children's horror. Ms. Dorothy took the baby from Mr. R's arms as he returned to the building to wash up. He bowed to the children, pointed to the mess and said, "Now, children, I guess I'm a _real_ 'Big fat poopy-head'!"

-END-


End file.
